2 Jul 2009, 0957 hrs IST

Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala: Kerala Health department would revive all 14 tuberculosis centres and the 64 units under them by improving their functioning, Health Minister P K Sreemathi said here yesterday.

Though dismissed as a `disease of the past,' tuberculosis was still one of the leading causes of mortality, reportedly claiming more than 300,000 lives every year in India alone, she said, launching the `Speak up to stop TB' campaign by `REACH,' a non-governmental organisation.

The state government would take effective steps to face the threat, she said.

Health department would study the causes of new diseases affecting people with the environmental changes like global warming, she said.

REACH (Resource Group for Education and Advocacy for Community Health) is a Chennai-based NGO presided by M S Swaminathan.

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