Lucknow: As many as 11,595 new TB patients were identified during the active Case Finding (ACF) campaign held across districts of the state in Sep, a health department spokesperson said on Wednesday.
"ACF drive was organised under the National TB Elimination Programme through which the state keeps a tab on TB prevalence. TB cases identified were notified and put on the TB control drugs," the spokesperson said, citing Dr Shailendra Bhatnagar, state TB officer, UP.
In the campaign, health workers went door-to-door and screened 20% of the state's population. They identified about 4.5 lakh people with possible symptoms of TB. Of these, sputum tests and X-rays were conducted for 4.38 lakh individuals, confirming TB in 11,595 cases. This included 5,381 cases of pulmonary TB and 6,314 cases of extra-pulmonary TB.
A total of 11,571 TB patients were also checked for comorbidities such as diabetes, HIV, and sensitivity to medicines before their treatment started. The highest number of 1,104 TB patients were found in Kushinagar, followed by Gorakhpur and Etah, where 414 and 379 patients were reported, respectively.
In addition to this, 345 patients were identified in Lucknow, 303 in Meerut, 272 in Maharajganj, 271 in Gonda, 262 in Prayagraj and 225 in Shahjahanpur. The campaign covered rural as well as urban areas, including high-risk zones such as orphanages, mines, stone crushers, weekly markets, madrasas, old age homes, vegetable markets, prisons and slums.