TB cases on the rise in district

Ravneet Singh

Tribune News Service

Patiala, March 7

Despite latest techniques, cases of tuberculosis (TB) in the district are on the rise. “Private institutions and hospitals, however, do not report the cases though they have to notify the Health Department about the same,” said nodal officer Gurpreet Singh Nagra.

As per the data received from the department, the district has seen 2,370 TB cases and 35 cases of drug-resistant TB in 2017. In 2016, there were 2,512 cases of TB, of which 24 were of drug-resistant TB. Similarly, in 2015, there were 2,442 cases of TB, including 36 of drug-resistant TB. In 2014, there were 2,416 cases of TB with 19 cases of drug resistant-TB. In 2013, the figure stood at 2,515 with 33 cases of drug-resistant TB. The number was 2,599 in 2012 with 28 cases of drug-resistant tuberculosis.

The Health Department has acquired machines and mechanisms to catch cases of TB and drug-resistant TB at early stages. Tests including light emitting diode (LED) microscopy, cartridge-based nucleic acid amplification test (CBNAAT), line probe assay 1(LPA), line probe assay 2(LPA) and liquid culture tests are available and done at intermediate reference lab (IRL) in the district TB hospital here.

Dr Gurpreet Singh Nagra said, “The tests help us ascertain if a patient was resistant to a number of drugs or not. “Accordingly, we provide treatment to patients. The medicine and the time span for treatment then varies accordingly. This is a major reason why we have been able to check the spread of the disease at early stages and provide required treatment to patients.”

At the same time, these are not the total number of cases in the district. He said, “Even though TB cases should be notified, private hospitals do not inform us about the number of cases. The number of TB  cases should be higher.”

“There is also a stigma attached to the disease. It is totally curable but people, in a bid to keep it a secret, do not approach hospitals for check-up. The problem aggravates and affects many others,” he added.

The district Health Department here has launched a programme to check the spread of the disease in the district by approaching nearly 3 lakh households, including slum areas.

Civil Surgeon Dr Harish Malhotra, however, said private institutions informed the department regarding all such cases. “We hold monthly meetings where representatives from the Indian Medical Association (IMA) are also present. All the hospitals inform us about TB cases.”