A drive to trace and treat tuberculosis patients would be carried out in Dharwad district from July 15 to 27, said Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer B.C. Satish.
Chairing a meeting of a coordination committee of district officials here recently, Mr. Satish said that testing and medication would be provided free under this drive. He has instructed the officials concerned to see that the drive is successfully conducted in the district.
About the steps taken by the government to control tuberculosis, Mr. Satish said that under the tuberculosis control programme, patients would receive treatment and medicines free. This apart, every patient would be provided with a financial support of ₹ 500 per month to consume nutritious food during the entire period of treatment. The government would also reward private doctors with an incentive amount of ₹ 500 if they traced tuberculosis cases and informed the Department of Health and Family Welfare and an additional amount of ₹ 500 if they treated such a patient, Mr. Satish said. Speaking on the occasion, District Tuberculosis Control Officer Tanuja K.N. said that a total of 1,289 new patients have been traced in the district between January and June-end this year.
While, 1,154 patients have been provided with treatment, steps have been taken to conduct health check-up for the remaining 135 patients and provide them medication, she said.
Last year, a total of 3,412 cases were detected in the district and 2,686 patients were provided with treatment. The remaining patients, who had migrated here for various reasons, have been provided with the first aid and free medicine and have been told to approach the district government hospitals in their respective districts for treatment, she said. Under this drive, the department has set the target of covering 3,24,233 people. A total of 239 health workers have been engaged for this purpose. A team of two health workers would visit slums, residential areas, industrials areas and dwellings of weaker sections of society and hold awareness programmes besides providing treatment and distributing medicine. The patients would receive free medication and financial support of ₹ 500 for the treatment period spanning over six to 18 months, she added.
District Health and Family Welfare Officer Rajendra Doddamani and others were present.
