Track active tuberculosis cases soon, 11 Haryana districts told

GURUGRAM: With an aim to identify active tuberculosis (TB) patients in Haryana, a month-long intensive screening drive was carried out across Haryana in June. Of a little over 18.48 lakh people screened during the drive, some 460 were found to be TB-positive, TOI has learnt.
Eleven districts found to have less than 20 active cases were asked to put in more efforts by the state health department to locate the patients at the earliest, officials said on Friday. These districts are Fathehabad, Jhajjar, Sonipat, Panchkula, Charkhi Dadri, Palwal, Faridabad, Nuh, Roktak, Jind and Yamunanagar.
This drive was initiated in the wake of Haryana ranking fourth in the country in the prevalence of tuberculosis in the National TB Prevalence Survey 2019-2021.
As per the survey data, Haryana has 460 TB cases per 1 lakh people. According to the World Health Organization, TB is one of the top 10 causes of deaths worldwide, and the leading cause from a single infectious agent. During the month-long screening drive, the highest number of active cases was found in Hisar (46), followed by Panipat (39), Karnal (39), Ambala (38), Sirsa (36), Mahendragarh (35), Gurgaon (32), Bhiwani (27), Kaithal (23) and Rewari (20). “We have asked the districts with low active TB cases to focus more on the prevalence,” said a health department official.
“The disease is spread through air when TB patients come in contact with anyone. It can spread through coughing, sneezing or spitting. It typically affects the lungs but can also affect other sites,” said a doctor from Civil Hospital, Gurgaon. “The mortality rate of TB is high in the absence of treatment, but a timely treatment with first-line antibiotics for six months can cure most patients.”
About 260 teams of the health department conducted the screening drive, which was carried out with a view to ensure that people suffering from TB do not stay at home in the fear of contracting Covid-19. People having symptoms of TB like cough of more than two weeks, haemoptysis, fever in the evening, weight loss and loss of appetite are suspected TB patients.
“After Covid, we are focusing on TB patients. Our teams are screening cases house-to-house. We are going to involve NGOs in the process. All hospitals have been told to report their TB patients and enter the details on the TB portal,” Dr Virender Yadav, chief medical officer (CMO), said.
At present, Gurgaon has two CBNAAT and one TrueNAAT machine at government hospitals — Civil hospital and Sohna Civil hospital — for the diagnosis of TB. Under the Haryana government’s ‘Nikshay Poshan Yojna’, TB patients are given Rs 500 every month till they complete treatment.
The state aims to eliminate tuberculosis (TB) by the year 2025.