‘41% fewer TB cases reported in April in Maha’

MUMBAI: The second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic has once again hit tuberculosis (TB) treatment in the state.

Data from the health department shows that TB cases plunged 41% in April, compared to those recorded in January. Health activists said that amid the pandemic, many cases remain undiagnosed or are not treated or appropriately notified on diagnosis.

In January, with the flattening of the pandemic curve, the TB notifications stood at 16,969. But with the start of the second wave in mid-february, the cases started to dive gradually. The total notification dropped to 15,610 in February, which further declined to 15,436 in March. In April, when the state was clocking a daily surge in Covid-19 cases, patients diagnosed with TB dropped to 10,036.

“We are aware of the sizeable drop in the notification of TB cases. We have tied up with Asha (Accredited Social Health Activist) workers who are reaching out to patients in rural parts of the state. We have also engaged with private set ups to follow-up on patients. This has helped reduce the dropout rate of patients compared to last year,” said Dr Archana Patil, director, Directorate of Health Services.

The decline in cases is seen at the out-patient department (OPD) of civic and governmentrun hospitals. “In April, as the city started recording over 8,000 cases daily, many stayed indoors and delayed their follow-ups. Similar trend was observed in 2020,” Dr Ranjit Mankeshwar, dean, Sir JJ Hospital said.

Data shows that registration of TB cases at private health establishments has also declined between January and April. In January, 9,797 cases were recorded at private hospitals, which dropped to 9,110 in February, and then to 8,596 in March and 5,346 in April. “I believe that the second wave of the pandemic has overshadowed the diagnosis,” said Dr Behram Pardiwala, head of medicine department and director of academics, Wockhardt Hospital.

Many activists fear that this trend would have a ripple effect on diagnosis.

“TB is the biggest killer in the state, especially in Mumbai. While the situation was worst between May and July during the lockdown last year, the numbers increased after easing of restrictions. But the second wave has slowed down the diagnosis once again,” said TB activist Ganesh Acharya.

The overall registration of TB fell by 29.5% (160,000 cases) in 2020 as compared to 2019, when 227,000 cases were recorded. The lowest registrations in the past four years were in 2020.

“We’re seeing many patients with advanced diseases because they refrained from necessary diagnostic evaluation,” said Dr Harshad Limaye, senior consultant, Internal Medicine at Nanavati Hospital.