TB screening facility to be available at Minjar Fair: CMO

A district-level monthly review meeting under the National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (NTEP) was held on Tuesday at Chamba. Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Bipen Thakur chaired the meeting that focused on the intensified strategies for TB screening and community involvement.

Dr Thakur said that TB screening would now cover 20% of the district’s total population, targeting vulnerable groups. These include individuals who smoke or consume alcohol, diabetics, patients with non-communicable diseases, former TB patients and their families, elderly citizens, prison inmates, residents of orphanages, tribal populations and those living in slum areas. In total, 45 categories of high-risk populations have been identified for targeted screening.

As part of the upcoming Minjar Fair exhibition, the Health Department will offer portable chest X-ray facilities. Dr Thakur encouraged residents suffering from symptoms such as persistent cough, fever, or chest pain to take advantage of this free diagnostic service during the event.

Highlighting the importance of community participation in reducing TB-related mortality, Dr Thakur appealed to individuals, organisations, community leaders and businesspersons to come forward and adopt TB patients and their families under the Nikshay Mitra initiative. Support through nutritional aid for a period of six months during treatment can greatly improve recovery outcomes and reduce stigma and discrimination against TB patients.

“Interested citizens can register online as Nikshay Mitras. Upon registration, the Health Department will coordinate with them to ensure the adopted patients receive proper nutritional and moral support throughout their treatment,” said the CMO.