TUBERCULOSIS: India: Tackling TB with new vigour

ALLAHABAD: With over 7,000 fresh cases turning to be sputum positive between January 1 and November 30 this year, the District Tuberculosis Control Unit (DTCU) has come with a novel idea to check rising TB cases through magic shows.
The initiative is aimed at attracting rural folks towards sputum check under the Information, Education and Communication (ICE) scheme. Here, the DTCU officials have chalked out a fresh strategy to organise magic shows in both rural and urban pockets. The shows would be commencing from mid January and magic shows would also be held at the forthcoming Magh Mela.
Ironically, the increasing cases of TB has set alarm bells ringing for the health department authorities who are busy in chalking out a fresh strategy to check the increasing cases of tuberculosis.
Further, as a World Bank team is expected to visit Allahabad to check the ongoing Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme RNCTP in January-February next year, officials are burning midnight oil to check the menace.
Talking to TOI, district tuberculosis Officer (DTO) Dr OP Sahi said: "Sincere efforts are underway to check the increasing TB cases and officials are visiting villages/blocks and rural pockets in this regard." He added that magic shows would undoubtedly be the best medium to attract rural folk appealing villagers to visit nearest DOT centre and get their sputum checked.
If records are to be believed, as many as 1,991, 2,273 and 2,130 confirmed cases of tuberculosis were detected in three quarters -- January-March, April-June and July-September respectively. These figures have left the officials worried and thus the District Tuberculosis Control Unit has intensified fresh drives to check the scenario.
Currently, the health department, under the Revised National Tuberculosis Programme (RNTCP), has set up TB detection units at 11 different spots directing health officials to take care of patients and offer them full course of medicines.
Surprisingly, most of the cases were detected in rural and city outskirts.Dr Sahi said: "New patients are being placed under different categories and they have been offered coloured boxes (having medicines, advice and prescriptions regarding mentioning of dates and time for the consumption of medicines) with an objective to eradicate the disease at grass-root level."
Under the fresh strategy, DTCU officials have paid more focus on areas where the concentration of patients are high. The officials are also planning to set up more Direct Observed Treatment (DOT) centres at identified pockets. In this regard, two new DOT centres would be set up in Manda and Jhalwa areas.
Dr Sahi, however, added that TB treatment is categorised into three parts. He made it clear that it all depends on the type of category to which the patient belongs, the treatment may continue for six to eight months, he added.
In the district, there are a total of 605 DOT centres are operational in city including 110 alone in city areas. Apart from DOT centres, microscopic centres were also set up to treat patients more effectively.
In 2009, as many as 14,592 cases were detected and the DTCU officials had carried out result-oriented drives initiating all required measures to check the growing cases.
An official pointed out that under the Directly Observed Treatment Short Course (DOTS) method, health workers offer medicines to patients on alternate days. Regular treatment under the programme can cure the disease within six or 12 months.
People having symptoms like cough, fever, chest pain and blood vomiting should immediately visit the nearest DOTS centre for testing .
Till date, a total of 41 sputum checking centres are operational across the district and treatment units (TU) have also been set up at Beli and Colvin hospital to take care of the patients.
For the benefit of people, the health department has set up as many as 605 DOTS centres in the district at primary health centres, community health centres and government/district hospitals with around 195 active ASHA DOTS providers are working round the clock to check TB cases in the region. Doctors have stressed that sputum examination is the only effective tool to detect TB cases.
"While rural folks hesitating in visiting DOT centre, magic shows would be surely the an attraction to convey the message," said a senior official adding, "DTCU officials have also sought assistance from private practitioners/nursing homes by setting up DOT clinics at their respective medical units."
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