Shreya Tripathi (died 9 October 2018) was an Indian health activist. Tripathi was diagnosed with

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in w ...

in 2012. She sought treatment but her strain was found to be

extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis Extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) is a form of tuberculosis caused by bacteria that are resistant to some of the most effective anti-TB drugs. XDR-TB strains have arisen after the mismanagement of individuals with multidrug-resis ...

, rendering the usual medications ineffective. The

Revised National TB Control Program The National Tuberculosis Elimination Program (NTEP) is the Public Health initiative of the Government of India that organizes its anti-Tuberculosis efforts. It functions as a flagship component of the National Health Mission (NHM) and provides ...

(RNTCP) in India declined to provide her with

bedaquiline Bedaquiline, sold under the brand name Sirturo, is a medication used to treat active tuberculosis. Specifically, it is used to treat multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) along with other medications for tuberculosis. It is used by mouth. ...

, a newer drug intended for such cases. With the assistance of

Anand Grover Anand Grover is a senior lawyer known for legal activism in Indian law relating to homosexuality and HIV. Along with his wife Indira Jaising, he is a founder-member of the Lawyers Collective. He was the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the ...

, Tripathi filed suit against the RNTCP to force the organization to provide access to the medication. On 20 January 2017, the High Court in Delhi ruled in favour of Tripathi and ordered that she receive the drug. The court further ordered that bedaquiline be made available at 70 Indian treatment centres; it had previously only be obtainable at six. Although her suit was successful, the treatment delay resulted in irreversible scarring to Tripathi's lungs, resulting in her death.

Stephen Lewis Stephen Henry Lewis (born November 11, 1937) is a Canadian politician, public speaker, broadcaster, and diplomat. He was the leader of the social democratic Ontario New Democratic Party for most of the 1970s. During many of those years as lead ...

highlighted Tripathi's story in a 2017 keynote address. In an article written after Tripathi's death, Lewis and

Jennifer Furin Jennifer or Jenifer may refer to: People *Jennifer (given name) * Jenifer (singer), French pop singer * Jennifer Warnes, American singer who formerly used the stage name Jennifer * Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer * Daniel Jenifer Film and televi ...

suggested that Tripathi "belongs with

Malala Malala Yousafzai ( ur, , , pronunciation: ; born 12 July 1997), is a Pakistani female education activist and the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Awarded when she was 17, she is the world's youngest Nobel Prize laureate, and the second P ...

and

Greta Greta may refer to: *Greta (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name Places * Greta Bridge, village in County Durham, England * Greta, New South Wales, town in Australia ** Greta railway station ** Greta Army Camp, form ...

in the pantheon of teenagers whose unswerving principles have brought the powerful to their knees".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tripathi, Shreya 2018 deaths Indian health activists Tuberculosis in India