Kashin-Beck disease patients receive relief in Beijing

Traveling more than 2,800 kilometers from Lhorong county in the Tibet autonomous region, 12 Tibetan patients with Kashin-Beck disease arrived in Beijing last week to receive free treatment at the Peking University People's Hospital. They were accompanied by their families, employees from the county's health commission and the people's hospital in Lhorong.

Located in the southeastern side of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Lhorong has distinct rainy and dry seasons every year, along with long and cold winters. It is also one of the places in China with high prevalence of Kashin-Beck disease.

Supported by the China Overseas-Educated Scholars Development Foundation and the Beijing Joint Care Foundation from as early as 2017, 58 patients from the county have been provided with free treatment with funds from the China Overseas-Educated Scholars Development Foundation. The beneficiaries are mostly from the county's rural areas, with most of them being adults.

He Fang, project management director of the foundation, said three patients in the ongoing treatment project had already received surgery last Wednesday. Another eight patients received surgeries on Monday, and one more patient is expected to have surgery on Tuesday. Hospitalization for the patients varies from 10 to 25 days.

"We cover all costs, including flight tickets, bus fees, accommodation, daily necessities and other expenses. The cost of a patient with single joint problem is more than 65,000 yuan ($9,980), and a patient with double joint problem is more than 150,000 yuan," He said.

"All these patients are in good moods as they have seen many successful cases in their hometown who have already recovered after surgery. They are not afraid of having surgeries, and they all hope to get up, and walk straight after recovery," she added.

"Affected by other endemic diseases, treatment of these patients is challenging. We have been training more local doctors to deal with the diseases in the future," she said.

Apart from Lhorong, He's foundation also works with Tibetan patients suffering from Kashin-Beck in Zamthang county of the Aba Tibetan and Qiang autonomous prefecture in Sichuan province.

Lho Tenchok, one of the patient attendants, said the project has brought many positive changes in their lives after recovery. He has witnessed many patients either work in the fields or go out for part-time jobs after recovery.

"Many people from Lhorong county suffer from Kashin-Beck disease due to their diet and drinking water source, such as the locally produced salt they have been eating from the ancient times," said Lho Tenchok, adding that incidence of the disease has declined in recent years thanks to government efforts in improving the people's livelihoods.

"Those patients who received free medical treatment in the past can now walk and work independently," he said.

Lin Jianhao, director of the bone and joint department of Peking University People's Hospital, said in a China News Service report that it is better to send more medics to Tibet to learn more about the culture and the health condition there, and it would generate solutions for better treatment in the future.

According to the hospital, two doctors and a nurse from the Lhorong County's People's Hospital have been receiving trainings in Lin's hospital in the last year. It also has one doctor from Tibet's Chamdo city receiving trainings in the same hospital.

"Our hospital has also been sending medics to Lhorong county to aid local medics to deal with the disease, and they also provide remote assistance to them via the internet," he said.