CoNE launches month-long campaign on TB ACF
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, January 12 2023: With an aim to help reduce delays in diagnosis and treatment and prevent the spread of tuberculosis (TB) to aid the government's effort for eliminating TB by 2025, Community Network for Empowerment (CoNE) in association with State TB Cell launched a month-long active case finding (ACF) campaign of TB among socially vulnerable groups, as a pilot initiative in the state, on Thursday.

Depending on the result of the experimental trial, it has been agreed upon between CoNE and the State TB Cell that the same initiative will be expanded in other districts of the state.

According to CoNE, the first-of-its-kind intervention on active case finding of TB in the state among a particular community (injecting drug users/IDUs), which is considered as socially vulnerable, kick-started at Vision of Hope Drugs and Alcohol De Addiction Treatment Centre, Khonghampat wherein 36 inmates of the centre were provided diagnosis and treatment services.

ACF or systematic screening for tuberculosis is an important tool to reach out to missing TB patients.

It has been advocated because of the potential benefits to individuals through access to treatment that would reduce morbidity and prevent mortality, and to populations by reducing transmission and preventing secondary cases.

ACF interventions are designed to directly identify people living with undiagnosed TB in the community but may also have an indirect impact on wider TB case detection, it added.

CoNE president RK Nalinikanta told media persons on the side-lines of the campaign that community-based ACF has important impacts on routine TB case-detection and subsequent patient-initiated diagnosis pathways, contributing to infectious diseases prevention and care.

Globally, as per the WHO report 2021, a total of 1.6 million people die of TB every year.

With an estimated 480,000 people succumbing to TB every year and 1400 in India, the country continues to face the severest health crisis despite its TB control activities for more than 50 years, he said while adding that India has now developed a national strategic plan with a set goal to eliminate TB by 2025 and the active TB case finding among key populations, especially socially vulnerable and clinically high-risk groups, is one of the thrust areas.

Nalinikanta further informed that since the drug users' community who are undergoing treatment at de-addiction centres also falls under the socially vulnerable and clinically high-risk groups, CoNE has tied up with the State TB Cell and launched the AFC of TB among this group so as to contribute to the government's effort of eliminating TB by 2025.State TB cell advocacy, communication and social mobilisation officer K Deben, who was also present at the opening day of the campaign held at Khonghampat, pointed out that the state TB cell has organised many ACF in the state during the past many years among the general population.

However, this is the first time that the state TB cell in association with CoNE has initiated a month-long campaign among the drug users' community staying in drug treatment centres to trace evidence of TB cases among this group and initiate treatment and further reduce morbidity and prevent mortality.

During the month-long campaign, four programmes will be conducted at different drug de-ad-diction centres located in Imphal East and Imphal West.

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