DIMAPUR, MARCH 23 (MExN): This year’s World TB Day will be observed through mass media intervention only such as releasing and dissemination of promotional video on Tuberculosis, advertisement in print media, distribution of IEC material etc.
This is being done as part of the directives from the Centre to avoid any mass gathering for prevention of COVID 19 infection, informed a press release from Dr Robin Lotha, State TB Officer, NTEP.
World TB Day is celebrated on March 24 with the theme ‘Its time.’ It is celebrated every year to generate public awareness and mobilize political & social commitment for further progress towards eliminating TB as a public health burden.
“Today, despite the availability of effective treatment, nearly one-and-a-half million deaths occur globally every year and tuberculosis remains a concern to humanity causing vast socio economic loss mostly in developing countries. On this day in 1882, Dr. Robert Koch astounded the scientific community by announcing the discovery of the causative agent of tuberculosis, ie, the Mycobacterium tuberculosis,” the press release informed.
Nagaland will be completing 19 years since the launching of the National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (NTEP) on December 1, 2020. So far, 54305 patients have been put on treatment. There are 52 Microscopy Centres including 11 District TB Centres, 10 CBNAAT machines and 2 Drug Resistance TB Centres where free investigation and treatment are provided to all including for MDR TB (Multi Drug Resistant). Since the launch of the facility on January 24, 2012, more than 544 MDR patients have been receiving the treatment.
As a part of National Strategic Plan to end TB by 2025, the programme has taken many initiatives in this direction, the latest being the transition of the erstwhile RNTCP (Revised National TB Control Programme) to NTEP (National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme). This has been done in order to reinforce this commitment. Other important activities on the pipeline are screening for latent TB infection, Multi sectoral collaboration, TB Hareega Desh Jeetega campaign, formation of TB Co Morbidity Committees with other co-related diseases etc.
Over the last two years or so, active case finding of vulnerable population, Nikshay Poshan Yojana (Incentive for notified patients), universal drug sensitivity testing of all TB patients and private notification are some of the major activities that have been initiated.
