Early detection of tuberculosis (TB) in India has improved significantly with easy access to diagnostics by more than 1.
New Delhi, Dec 7 (IANS) Early detection of tuberculosis (TB) in India has improved significantly with easy access to diagnostics in over 1.7 lakh Ayushman Arogya Mandirs, Health Minister said on Saturday and Family Welfare Union, JP Nadda.
He said this while launching the intensified 100-day TB elimination campaign in Panchkula, Haryana today. The campaign, which will be implemented in the 347 most affected districts across the country, aims to find and treat missing TB cases, especially in high-risk groups, and significantly reduce TB deaths. “Today, tuberculosis is detected early, thanks to the network of over 1.7 lakh Ayushman Arogya Mandirs across the country,” said the Union Health Minister, informing that many new strategies were taken to make TB services are decentralized and patient-friendly. The campaign comes as India seeks to end tuberculosis by 2025, five years ahead of the global target of 2030. Nadda said the campaign reflects the government’s “unwavering commitment to ending tuberculosis” and declared it will give new impetus to the goal of TB-Mukt Bharat (Tuberculosis Free India). The Minister further reported that in the last 10 years, the government has also significantly expanded diagnostics. “The number of laboratories has increased from 120 in 2014 to 8,293 laboratories today,” he said. “There was a time when tuberculosis was considered a ‘slow death’ and even family members suffering from tuberculosis were separated and isolated to prevent its spread. And since 1962, there have been many anti-tuberculosis campaigns, but in 2018 the First Minister aimed to end tuberculosis well before the 2030 deadline of the Sustainable Development Goals,” Nadda said The campaign aims to increase case detection through intensified testing. case detection, find campaigns that use advanced detection and diagnostic technologies to reduce delays in diagnosis and initiation of treatment In addition to early detection, the campaign will also be expanded to reduce mortality due to tuberculosis, Nadda said. The program will open the doors “to innovative initiatives such as Differentiated Tuberculosis Care to provide specialized care to high-risk patients and greater nutritional support through the Ni-kshay Poshan Yojana,” he explained. Furthermore, to counter drug-susceptible tuberculosis, the Union Government introduced a daily regimen including a new shorter and more effective regimen. This “has improved the success rate of tuberculosis treatment to 87 percent,” Nadda said. He also praised the government’s decision to make it mandatory, even for private doctors, to notify any new scheme. tuberculosis patients so that their treatment can be immediately monitored. “This may seem like a small step, but it has led to an eight-fold increase in the TB notification rate in the private sector,” Nadda said. He also highlighted that the rate of decline in tuberculosis in India has doubled from 8.3 percent in 2015 to 17.7 percent today, well above the global average. It also reported that deaths due to tuberculosis have also reduced significantly in India by 21.4 percent in the last 10 years.–IANSrvt/
Source-IANS
