THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The health department has received national recognition for conducting the maximum number of molecular tests as part of the tuberculosis control project.
A total of 82% of 87,330 people got tested for TB during the 100-day programme of the Tuberculosis Control Project held from December 7, 2024 to March 7, 2025 with modern molecular tests such as CBNAAT and TrueNAAT.
As many as 5,588 tuberculosis patients were identified and provided with follow-up treatment.
The state has received national awards in 2022 and 2023 for coordinating tuberculosis prevention activities in the government sector as well as the private sector. In 2024, 138 local self-government bodies were eligible for the Tuberculosis-Free Panchayat Award. More than half of the local self-government bodies in Wayanad and Idukki districts have also been eligible for tuberculosis-free status.
Union Health Minister J P Nadda appreciated the tuberculosis prevention activities being carried out by Kerala during the meeting with Health Minister Veena George on Tuesday.
The health department organised an extensive campaign as part of the 100-day Karma programme. Through this, the presumptive TB examination rate was increased from 1,500 to 2,201 per lakh population per year.