TB eradication programme reviewed

Chamba, August 24

The Department of Health and Family Welfare (Chamba) organised a monthly review meeting of the National Tuberculosis (TB) Eradication Programme on Saturday.

The meeting was chaired by Chamba Chief Medical Officer Dr Bipin Thakur.

District Health Officer Dr Jalam Bhardwaj said the state aimed to become TB-free by 2025. He presented a PowerPoint presentation discussing ongoing programmes such as the TB-Free Village Panchayat, SNC Survey and the Nikshay Mitra Yojana. He emphasised the importance of raising public awareness about the symptoms of TB, which include persistent coughing for more than two weeks, weight loss, lumps in the body, night sweats and blood in the sputum.

He also highlighted the need to eliminate the social stigma against TB patients and to encourage community participation in eradicating TB.

The meeting also focused on spreading awareness about the criteria for TB-Free Panchayats.District TB Officer Dr Harit Puri said the objective of the meeting was to review TB case notifications and other indicators.

Patients showing symptoms of TB should be referred to healthcare institutions for testing at every Community Health Officer (CHO), Primary Health Center (PHC), Community Health Center (CHC), Civil Hospital, District Hospital and Medical College, he added.

He said each block was actively working on early detection of TB cases, and providing diagnostic facilities at every primary healthcare institution.