THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The 100-day tuberculosis prevention programme has identified close to 5,000 TB patients from screening 53 lakh people, according to Dr K J Reena, director of health services.
The campaign, which began on December 7, aims to identify those who are at high risk of tuberculosis and have symptoms of the disease from screening and testing as many people as possible.
The programme identified 68,180 people who are susceptible to the disease. On further screening, as many as 4,924 people were identified with tuberculosis. The campaign will conclude on March 17.
The state TB officer, Dr K K Rajaram, said that 80% of screening was conducted using molecular testing. He pointed out that the government has started providing food kits to patients as nutritional deficiency is one of the major deciding factors for treatment outcome. Besides, several companies, agencies, organisations and individuals have come forward to become members of Nikshay Mitra, which provides monthly nutrition kits to each patient. WHO consultant Dr Aparna Mohan pointed out that 35% of TB patients are diabetic.
The state tested 5.44 lakh samples to identify 21,582 new TB patients in 2023. Over 2,000 people die every year from the disease. Kerala recorded the highest number of registrations of TB patients from the private sector on the Nikshay portal. The number of registrations rose from 4,615 in 2019 to 6,542 in 2023.
The state has 355 System for TB Elimination in Private Sector (STEP) centres. These connect people requiring TB treatment at private hospitals with the public health system.
Kerala is the first state in the country to adopt preventive treatment for people closely involved with TB patients.
The test-and-treat policy aims to prevent spread of the infection.
According to health experts, stigma continues to be a major hindrance for effective intervention strategies. The LSG department recently issued an order allowing local bodies to provide food kits worth `1,500 to each patient.
Early detection
The campaign aims to identify those who are at high risk of tuberculosis and have symptoms of the disease from screening and testing as many people as possible.
Kerala is the first state in the country to adopt preventive treatment for people closely involved with TB patients
The test-and-treat policy aims to prevent spread of the infection.
The LSG department recently issued an order allowing local bodies to provide food kits worth Rs 1,500 to each patient.