A mobile tuberculosis (TB) screening unit with digital X-ray machine was flagged off in Tiruppur on Wednesday.
District Collector K. Vijayakarthikeyan flagged off the van on the Collectorate premises in the presence of Tiruppur Government Medical College Hospital Dean Valli Sathyamoorthy, Deputy Director of Health Services K. Jegadeesh Kumar, a release said.
The mobile X-ray van will test 40 to 50 persons in one day, said D. Dheenadayal, Deputy Director (Tuberculosis). Health Department personnel will engage in “verbal screening” in a given area, which involves inquiring residents experiencing symptoms of tuberculosis such as persistent coughs, fever and weight loss. Based on the verbal screening, the van will reach the particular area for tests, Dr. Dheenadayal said.
Commencing its operations from Thursday, the van will first visit Perumanallur and then move on to Avinashi.
The van will cover all parts of the district in the next one month, he said. Based on the X-ray tests, the sputum (mucous from lungs) samples collected from the patients will be sent to Tiruppur Government Medical College Hospital, where the testing for tuberculosis will be done using the cartridge-based nucleic acid amplification test (CBNAAT) method.
Disinfection
The healthcare personnel in the van will take COVID-19 precautionary measures such as wearing masks and routine disinfection.
“We will disinfect the vehicle three times a day,” Dr. Dheenadayal said. If patients subjected to X-ray test show COVID-19 symptoms, their swab and sputum samples will also be collected, he said.
