BY: Sameer Lone
Srinagar: At least three districts from Jammu and Kashmir have received Gold medal in the efforts towards elimination of Tuberculosis (TB) while one district has got the bronze certification.
According to official documents, all the four districts belong to Kashmir division. The districts of Anantnag, Pulwama and Kupwara have been granted Gold for its fight towards elimination of tuberculosis while Baramulla has achieved a medal in bronze category.
It may be said that Kupwara and Baramulla are listed as Aspirational districts while Pulwama and Anantnag are non-aspirational districts categorised by NITI Aayog.
The Jammu and Kashmir government has pacified the screening of people suspicious or at risk of contracting the TB infection.
The doctors at the hospitals have been asked to prescribe sputum examinations of all the patients at OPDs whom they think are at risk of contracting the TB infection.
“It is estimated that the sputum tests should be at least conducted on 50,000 people in a year so that we bring an end to tuberculosis and make these districts TB free,” said a senior district level Tuberculosis officer.
“Sputum examinations are must if we want to detect TB cases and treat them on time. It can help us to decrease rate of TB cases in near future,” said a doctor who wanted to not to be named.
According to official sources, the Central TB Division has come up with new guidelines where in all the primary contacts of Active TB cases have to be tested for latent TB infection and in case found infection positive, they have to be put on Treaty Preventive Therapy (TPT).
The Latent TB Infection screening has already started in the districts of Anantnag, Kulgam, Srinagar, Ganderbal, Baramulla and Kupwara, official sources added.
