Lucknow, 23 November (IANS). The Yogi government of Uttar Pradesh has decided to conduct screening of people in contact with TB patients and former TB patients. This screening will take place every three months. At the same time, there are 42 days left for the end of the year, hence instructions have been given to every district to achieve the target of presumptive TB testing rate of at least three thousand by the end of the year.
Regarding this, on the instructions of CM Yogi Adityanath, Principal Secretary Medical and Health has issued a letter to all the District Tuberculosis Officers (DTOs). Principal Secretary Medical and Health Partha Sarathi Sen Sharma said that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has set a target of making the state TB free by the year 2025. In such a situation, screening of TB patients is being done on a war footing. In this sequence, all DTOs have been instructed to regularly monitor the data and pay attention to the weak areas.
He said that the National Tuberculosis Elimination Program (NTEP) aims to reduce TB cases, deaths and improve outcomes for TB patients. In such a situation, work is being done very fast in this direction across the state. The result of this is that so far this year, the highest number of TB patients have been notified in the state. The strategy has been further strengthened to achieve this target on time.
State Tuberculosis Officer Dr. Shailendra Bhatnagar said that while increasing contact tracing and screening of patients with possible symptoms of TB, instructions have been given to increase sputum testing of family members of all people infected with pulmonary TB and people at the workplace. The greater the contact tracing and screening, the greater the number of TB patients who will be identified and their treatment can begin.
In the same sequence, high-risk people like elderly people above 60 years of age, diabetic patients, smokers and drug addicts, people with body mass index (BMI) less than 18, people suffering from HIV and patients currently undergoing treatment for TB. Instructions have been given to screen the persons who came in contact with TB every three months.
To eradicate TB from its roots, instructions have been given to distribute Nate machines in all the blocks keeping TB testing in mind. Also, orders have been given to identify those TB units which are not working as per expectation and to take necessary steps to improve them.
Instructions have also been given by the Regional TB Program Management Unit (RTPMU) to visit the districts every month and take stock of the situation there.
–IANS
SK/ABM
