New Delhi, Nov 27 (IANS): The health ministry, with the Delhi-based All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), will formulate clinical guidelines for managing tuberculosis occurring in body parts other than lungs, known as extra-pulmonary tuberculosis.

According to medical science, there are no specific guidelines set by any nation in the world to diagnose tuberculosis occurring in other parts of the body.

"Tuberculosis affects all organs of a human body. It requires good clinical judgement to treat it. The process of getting the clinical guidelines is the first step to provide good treatment," said S.K. Sharma, medicine department head, AIIMS.

Over 47 doctors from across the country will frame the guidelines in a period of six-nine months. These doctors will be divided into five groups and will look after the occurrence of tuberculosis in other parts of the body.

According to the AIIMS, the inadequate resources at peripheral level to identify, diagnose, and treat the disease along with non-availability of skilled and trained staff for sample collection and diagnosis are some of the major challenges to treat the extra pulmonary tuberculosis.

India is home to the large number of people affected by tuberculosis, but there has been improvement over the past two decades in the number of deaths due to the disease, Sharma said.

The percentage of people suffering from the disease in India may be around 35-40 percent, said Sharma, who is also professor-in-charge of the centre of excellence for managing extra pulmonary tuberculosis, AIIMS.