BMC TO COVER 7L PEOPLE WITH DOORTODOOR TB TESTING

MUMBAI: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will go door to door to conduct tuberculosis (TB) to assess the actual number of patients in the city. As part of its target to bring the disease under control, the civic body aims to test seven lakh people from 65 areas across the city from November 12 to November 24, from 9am to 4pm.

Earlier, the civic body had tested around 1.79 crore people from January 1 to March 31, 2018. These mass tests double as a survey to determine the presence of TB patients in the city and the BMC is set to conduct the second phase this month.

A team of experts will conduct the door-to-door tests with the help of technicians. The 65 localities have been chosen by the civic body as most TB patients have been detected in these areas and given that the disease is contagious, the tests will be conducted there. Around 1.60 lakh homes will be surveyed for which 297 teams have been organised.

If a person is detected to be a likely TB patient during the preliminary tests, then X-ray and sputum tests will be conducted. The X-ray test would be conducted at a nearby civic hospital while for the sputum tests, the person will be provided with a voucher by the BMC to cash in at the nearest designated private laboratory. If these tests confirm the TB diagnosis, the entire treatment will be done free of cost.

Dr Padmaja Keskar, executive health officer, said the tests can also be conducted at suitable timings if any person is not available during the time allotted.

The civic body has also started a toll-free number which will be provided to the patient wherein he has to give a missed call after taking the medication. This data will help determine the number of patients that have completed their treatment course; those who are found to leave their course midway will be guided.