New Delhi,(PTI): On the lines of its anti-polio drive, the health ministry has launched a 15-day door-to-door campaign across the country for early detection, diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis to eliminate the disease. Under the campaign, health department workers, Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) and TB supervisors will make door-to-door visits to find TB patients and give them free medical treatment till they are cured, said Dr Sunil Khaparde, Deputy Director General (TB), Health Ministry. "Around one million cases of tuberculosis get missed every year. The aim is to detect these missed out cases by going to every household. "These are the most vulnerable population including those living in slums, mine workers, unorganised labourers, prisoners and migrants among others," Khaparde said.

Under the third phase of the Revised National TB Control Programme, the centre in collaboration with the states have identified 186 high-risk districts. The phase is called Active Case Finding (ACF). The programme was launched in January last year and the second phase of the exercise was carried out in July. "In both the campaigns together, 15,000 cases of TB were detected and the patients were put on treatment. The health ministry aims to reduce incidences of TB by 90 per cent by 2025 and reduce mortality due to the disease by 95 per cent by 2030 under the Revised National TB Control Programme," Khaparde said.

Talking about the challenges faced in TB elimination, Kharpade said that more than 60 per cent of the patients go to private hospitals during the first contact. "There is no adherence system. Also the treatment protocol as prescribed under the standards for TB cases is not followed as a result of which the treatment is not completed and in majority of the cases there is a relapse. "So we are sensitising the private hospitals so that they notify us the cases," he said… (PTI, December 10, 2017)