Determined to eliminate tuberculosis (TB) by 2025, a goal set under the national strategic plan formulated by the Central Tuberculosis Division, Karnataka launched the second round of active case finding (ACF) campaign to detect TB in all the 31 districts on Wednesday.
Aimed at fighting the bacteria by better detection, treatment and prevention, the second round for financial year 2018-19 will go on till January 12. While residents of slums, prisons, old-age homes and orphanages, and construction site workers will be covered in urban areas, difficult-to-reach villages, mine workers, stone crushers, population with high malnutrition, and unorganised labourers will be checked in rural areas.
Teams of health personnel, who will visit door to door, will also reach out to tribal school hostels, villages seeking care from traditional healers, population known to drink raw milk and eat uncooked meat, and those who live in poorly-ventilated huts, stated a press release issued here on Tuesday.
During the first round that was conducted from July 2 to July 13, 2018 in all the districts, 99,900 presumptive patients were covered. Of these, 2,957 patients were detected in the examination round and treated.
Persons showing symptoms during the ACF will be sent for sputum examination and chest X-ray. If they test positive, they will be registered under NIKSHAY (Health Ministry’s registry). This is to keep track of patients, from diagnosis to treatment outcome, and to monitor them for six months, said a health official.
