UP to get more CB-NAAT machines for diagnosing TB
LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh will soon get 65 more CB-NAAT (cartridge-based nucleic acid amplification test) machines for speedy diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB). The state already has 76 of these machines.
The new machines will be installed in districts where incidence of TB is high or where the number of suspected cases was recorded as high during the various surveys undertaken as part of the national tuberculosis control programme.
“The machines are being provided by the government of India,” said Dr Alok Ranjan, state tuberculosis officer.
Uttar Pradesh gets 10,000 fresh multi-drug resistant TB cases and 2.5 lakh TB cases, annually. These additional CB-NAAT machines will help ease the burden of tuberculosis diagnosis in the state.
The CB-NAAT machine is used to test TB, MDR-TB and also tuberculosis infection in HIV positive people. It also helps in diagnosing cases where TB has not been clearly confirmed using sputum test or any
other method.
The CB-NAAT is trusted to give a clear and correct diagnosis. Also, the results come out
within two hours.
ACTIVE CASE SURVEY
The ‘Active Case Survey’ undertaken for tuberculosis patients in six districts of the state detected 400 new cases of the disease. These patients were not aware about their TB status. However, the team suspected them to be infected and the test results confirmed the same.
“The active case survey will start again from the third week of December. This time, it will be conducted in 25 districts, including Lucknow, Allahabad and Kanpur,” said Dr Ranjan.
The remaining districts of the state will be covered in the third round of the active case survey.
REGISTRATION WITH PVT DOCS
The state TB control department is also planning to increase registration of patients with private doctors.
Test facility and medicines will also provided to the patients if the doctor and the patient wish so.
“We are ready to provide medicines free of cost,” said the state tuberculosis officer, adding, “The only thing is that the doctor should notify us about the patient and continue taking consultancy and medicines from us.”