The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Plan to rid IT City of TB

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Tuesday, Nov 10, 2009
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Plan to rid IT City of TB

Staff Reporter

Bangalore main focus of WHO scheme

India accounts for one-fifth of global incidence of TB
Two TB deaths reported every three minutes

Bangalore: The Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP) aims at achieving cent per cent cure rate among TB patients in Bangalore.

“Bangalore is our main focus and the World Health Organisation (WHO) funds the programme: all the medicines come from it,” RNTCP Programme Coordinator Vijaykumar S. Biradar said during an awareness campaign on the symptoms, precautions and cure of TB here on Monday.

With 50 Designated Microscopy Centres (DMC) across the city, the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and RNTCP expect to eradicate TB completely from Bangalore. There are 96 RNTCP members.

Dedicated staff

“Even though we work on a contract basis, we are willing to work hard. We have 50 dedicated staff working on field who educate private practitioners across the city about Directly Observed Treatment Short Course (DOTS) and its effectiveness,” said Shrinath N., Senior TB Laboratory Supervisor, RNTCP.

BBMP Commissioner Bharathlal Meena, pointing out that modern means of communication do not reach out to the masses, underscored the role of media such as street plays and skits.

India accounts for one-fifth of the global incidence of TB. While each day more than 5,000 people are diagnosed, two deaths reported every three minutes.

Creating awareness

Skits to raise awareness about TB were performed by Dr. Ambedkar Medical College, Natya Saraswathi Shanthala Kannada Kala Sangh and Gejje Hejje Ranga Thanda.

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