World Tuberculosis Day

Efforts to make TB free state

Tahir Mushtaq

JAMMU, Mar 23: The health department of the state government is doing efforts to make Jammu region free from Tuberculosis (TB) from the last few years.

Talking to TNI District Tuberculosis Officer (DTO), Dr Poonam Mahajan said the department has registered 3100 TB cases in 2010, whereas it was increased in 2011 upto 3624 and till March 2012 record is 416.

Dr Mahajan disclosed that does not mean that the patients of TB are increasing year after year but people effecting from this disease got aware for treatment.

She maintained that as per the tendency the ratio is 95 TB patients on every 1 lacs population. So there is good response from the remote area of the region.

Previously for treatment we were using basic Directly Observed Treatment Short (DOTS), but from January this year the department has introduced DOTS PLUS in which the patient is under treatment for two years. the effected persons take a of 90 injection besides 18 types of medicines regularly for the same duration.

She added that the department organized numerous camps to spread awareness particularly in slum areas in different part of Jammu district.

She explained that people belongs to slums are not so health conscious, moreover the environment is not eco-friendly. So people from these areas need to be aware more.

As per the report in Jammu region the TB cases as in last year recorded in district Doda there were about 1002 cases of TB, in Kathua the cases were 1006, in district Poonch 551 TB cases were record, in Rajouri 815 cases were recorded, whereas in district Udhampur there were 1287 cases of TB. The cases in Kashmir province in the year 2006 was 827, but exceeded to 1476 in year 2010.

The concern authorities has established Directly Observed Treatment (DOT) centre in different part of the state to treat the TB patients. Under this scheme the concern doctor take the saliva sample of the patients for test, and if the reports come positive then they refer the patients to the nearest DOT centre for further treatment.