SURVEY REVEALS HIDDEN TB AND LEPROSY CASES

MUMBAI: A door-to-door survey conducted by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) last month helped in finding out several hidden cases of tuberculosis and leprosy in the city. Civic officials say all the newly diagnosed patients have been put on treatment, and contact tracing has started to find out if they passed on the infection to other people.

BMC had launched the screening campaign to be held between September 26 and October 12 as a part of the government of India’s plan to eliminate TB by 2025 and leprosy by 2030. More than 45 lakh people from 24 wards in the city were examined during the fortnight-long campaign. Out of the entire population screened for tuberculosis, 8883 people were suspected to have tuberculosis based on symptoms but only 248 of them were found to have the disease after they were tested for it. For leprosy, the number of suspected cases was 12,111 people suspected, out of which 105 patients were diagnosed.

“As soon as the new patients were diagnosed, they were put on the necessary treatment. We have also started contact tracing of these patients. Testing has also begun on all the people who were found to be in close contact with the diagnosed patients,” said Dr Varsha Puri, deputy executive health officer of BMC. These close contacts have also been started on a six-month course of prophylactic medication, she added.

The frequency of routine surveys for the detection of the two infections would also be increased hereafter, as per civic officials.

Increased detection and reaching out to every patient is the only way to curb the instances of new infections. For the last couple of years, the health department was completely consumed with the fight against covid which meant the screening for these two diseases had taken a backseat.