By: Sameer Lone
Srinagar: In a bid to eliminate TuberCulosis from Jammu and Kashmir, the government has chalked out a gigantic task and directed the health department to ensure ‘TB MUKHT’ Union Territory by 2025.
As the Government of India has already started Joint Effort for Elimination of Tuberculosis (JEET 2.0) Program to track primary contacts of active TB cases, the J&K government has went a step ahead going for random sampling of households in a focussed approach.
According to sources, the Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has tasked the Health Department to end TB in J&K by 2025.
In a step towards it, the health department has started the exercise at the block level by taking random samples of people especially elderly or if the doctor suspects any suggestive symptomatic case.
According to a senior official, the doctors at PHCs, sub district hospitals and other health facilities advise a patient for TB screening. “Our daily sample testing rate has increased manifold,” said a lab technician at a govt facility.
He said since TB disease has stigma related to it so they have to stay cautious throughout the process.
Another senior official in the Health Depart said a household survey has also been started on the other side to ensure not even an assumptive symptomatic case is left it. The old ages persons are prioritised for TB screening, he said.
An official at one block of Bijbehara in South Kashmir said that they test around 150 samples a day and by this rate they will be doing around 3000 tests in a month.
“With this pace we will be completing 20000 people in a month, which means almost more than half of a population of one block,” said a lab technician in one block.
