Idukki and Wayanad districts are among the five districts chosen across the country for the first time by the Central TB Division, Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, for implementing the TB Elimination Strategy this year.
TB elimination is defined as a stage when there is only one positive tuberculosis (TB) case for a million population.
The strategy is to improve awareness creation on TB amongst the grassroots population in stages and to go into active case detection, treatment, and surveillance in phases so that in the next five years, TB elimination levels can be reached.
Idukki district will receive Central funds of Rs.8 crore under the project, for manpower, diagnostic equipment, and development of grassroots-level strategy for the next five years, while the State will have to find funds from the Revised National TB Control Programme for implementing the elimination strategy in Wayanad.
Selection criterion
The two districts were chosen as these are hilly districts with lower density of population and have the highest TB suspect examination in the country.
The test rate in Idukki is 1600 per lakh population every year and that in Wayanad, 1284 per lakh population.
However, only about one percent of the cases are found to be sputum-positive.
“The main component in the TB elimination strategy will be active TB awareness campaign right from the ward-level so that people are made aware of the symptoms and encouraged to volunteer themselves for testing.
Till now, under RNTCP, only those with chest disease symptoms in the out-patient clinics are tested for TB.
But now, we will go into active case finding in the community by focussing on specific populations such as those with diabetes, renal, and other chronic illnesses and smokers, who are more vulnerable to getting TB infection,” a senior health official said.
Under the project, both districts will receive advanced diagnostic equipment such as Gene Expert machines as well as portable X-ray machines so that emphasis can be given on radiological examination for early detection.
Apart from just sputum examination, radiological examination for detecting extra-pulmonary TB cases will be introduced. A surveillance system will be developed around each TB case.
Five districts chosen across the country
Both districts to get advanced diagnostic devices
