BHUBANESWAR: In a bid to eliminate tuberculosis (TB) by 2025 as envisaged by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the Odisha government has chalked out a special strategy to ensure every village is free from the communicable disease.
With multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) showing a declining trend, the Health and Panchayatiraj departments have jointly initiated panchayat level interventions to attain ‘tuberculosis’ free status in all 6,794 gram panchayats of the state.
The Ministry of Health data indicated the number of people diagnosed with MDR-TB has come down from 568 in 2022 to 428 this year (till October 31). The number of MDR-TB patients detected was 461 in 2020 and 439 in 2021. The death rate has also come down from 5.4 per cent in 2018 to around four per cent now due to the high success rate in treatment.
As per the strategy, health functionaries at village and sub-centre/health and wellness centre (HWC) levels, along with the support of gram panchayats, will intensify efforts to end TB in the state. Their efforts will be measured and validated in an endeavour to declare the panchayats TB-free.
The Panchayatiraj institutions (PRIs) will be empowered to realise the extent and magnitude of problems associated with the disease, take necessary actions for resolving them and create healthy competition among panchayats to appreciate their contribution. Sources said community awareness campaigns on various aspects of TB, its symptoms, diagnostic health facilities available, treatment adherence, prevention, stigma reduction and various benefits provided by the government for patients will be conducted regularly at panchayats.
The panchayats which will ensure at least 30 presumptive TB tests per 1,000 population and a notification rate of less than one per 1,000 population in a year with a treatment success rate of more than 85 per cent and a drug susceptibility test rate of at least 60 per cent will be declared TB free. The panchayats should also ensure that 100 per cent of TB patients receive nutritional support and are paid at least one installment under Nikshay Poshan Yojana.
“The district health authorities will coordinate and facilitate the activities with PRIs to achieve the goal of TB Mukt panchayat. Screening, testing and treatment activities will be conducted in all gram panchayats of the state,” said a senior health official.
Meanwhile, the state government has made molecular diagnostics facilities available in all districts. Universal drug susceptibility testing has been introduced to ensure every diagnosed TB patient is tested to rule out drug resistance at the time of diagnosis. Odisha is now ranked second in the country in terms of TB notification and the treatment success rate has gone up from 88 per cent to 90 per cent.