If you cough persistently for more than two weeks, don’t take it easy. It could be Tuberculosis. But no need to fret! A timely treatment can cure it totally.

Brand ambassador for Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai’s (MCGM) TB awareness campaign superstar Amitabh Bachchan too had contracted TB in 2000. On World Tuberculosis Day he speaks about his battle in his blog published in Times of India.

I too had endured the challenges of facing the disease and the discipline and difficulty of the stringent adherence that the treatment regimen requires. In 2000, I was diagnosed with TB during the shooting of Kaun Banega Crorepati. The treatment did not stop my work and I continued shooting for this show.

MCGM had launched the ‘TB Harega, Desh Jeetega’ campaign and Amitabh was roped as its brand ambassador. The superstar is hopeful of making positive difference to the TB campaign.

A huge number of TB-infected people come from the poorer sections of society. During the launch of the campaign, I urged people from the film fraternity and those more fortunate to step up to provide the weaker sections with the means to fight this disease by offering support of different kinds, be it financial or otherwise.

TB can lead to a prolonged bloody cough, weight loss, weakness, low grade fever and an overall deterioration of a person’s health. Amitabh urges the Government to help eradicate TB with same zeal as they did Polio.

Successive governments have worked with a certain zeal and commitment to eradicate polio and the same kind of determination is visible in the TB programme launched by government.I pray that our dream of TB Harega, Desh Jeetega becomes a reality very soon!