He changed the way we treat TB in Australia

Dr Chitta Mohan Mukerjee, who passed away following a stroke on April 14, will be fondly remembered by his medical colleagues, patients and many others for his influence on public policy in New South Wales. As a result of his ongoing advocacy, supervised or directly observed treatment of tuberculosis became a mandatory practice throughout NSW. Dr Greg Stewart, Director of Population Health, Planning and Performance, Sydney South West Area Health Service noted that Chitta single handedly advocated for a practice that led to much better public policy and to the potential for a reduction in reactivation, resistance and drug reaction among tuberculosis patients.

Born in West Bengal in 1927, Chitta Mohan Mukerjee migrated to Australia in 1973 with a wealth of medical experience particularly in the diagnosis and treatment of infectious lung diseases such as tuberculosis. As a young doctor in India, he had valiantly addressed epidemics of cholera, bubonic plague, typhoid and kala-azar, in remote areas, with few medical facilities and often in extreme weather conditions.

In 1970, Chitta migrated to Ghana in West Africa, where he saw three years of intense medical practice. Ghana’s first military coup forced Chitta and his family to leave, and he arrived in Australia with his wife and three children.

Chitta Mohan Mukerjee worked tirelessly to establish the Australian chapter of his medical career, starting as an intern at the

Royal South Sydney Hospital, where he soon became a registrar. He later worked for the Public Transport Commission, the Joint Coal Board, Dust Diseases Board and the tuberculosis divisions of NSW Health, including chest clinics at the Prince of Wales, former Prince Henry and Liverpool Hospitals.

In 1978, he became a member of the Thoracic Society of Australia. He gradually gained recognition and spoke at medical conferences in Australia and overseas, as well as published many papers. Due to his expertise and his contribution to thoracic medicine, Chitta was officially recognized as a consultant thoracic physician by the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand in1993, at the age of 66. He worked as a consultant thoracic physician for ten years before he was sadly afflicted by the first of five strokes. He instantaneously went from being an eminent doctor to a patient.

Determined to fight against the effects of multiple strokes, Chitta remained passionate and devoted to the world of medicine until the end. He passed away at his much loved Prince of Wales Hospital (Randwick, Sydney), where he had worked many years earlier.

Associate Professor David McKenzie, Head of Respiratory and Sleep Medicine at the Prince of Wales Hospital, spoke at Chitta Mohan Mukerjee’s funeral, held at the Prince Henry Hospital Chapel on April 20. He said Chitta will be remembered for his dogged pursuit of excellence in the management of tuberculosis (TB). “And he is to be credited with single handedly changing the way that we treat TB, not only in NSW, but throughout Australia. This particular way of treatment is called direct supervised therapy and due to its success, we have the lowest rate of TB in Australia and in the world. He was a wonderful man, humorous, generous, honest, courageous, but above all, he was a committed family man,” he added.

Professor Sydney Bell, Director of Microbiology, South Eastern and Illawarra Area Health Service, said Chitta is one of the unsung heroes in medicine, not only in Australia, but throughout the world. He is the pioneer and the instigator of supervised anti-TB therapy. Chitta’s son, Chinmoy, a Principal Hospital Scientist at the St George Hospital in Sydney’s South said, “We will miss Dad immensely and the void will never be filled. Dad achieved beyond his expectations. It was all due to his hard work, perseverance and patience. He never wavered from what he thought was right. He remained a dutiful family person, a compassionate man and a devoted doctor.”

The oldest of his three grandchildren, 13year old Vivaek, remembered his grandfather as someone with a larger than life personality and for whom medicine was the most defining feature. “My grandfather chose