The Health department on Friday observed Integrated Nishkay Day at the health centers and health and wellness centres of the district under the National TB Elimination Programme and the PM TB Free India Campaign.
The tuberculosis screening of the patients visiting the Outpatient Department (OPD) was conducted at health centers and health and wellness centres and sputum of symptomatic persons was collected and also sent for testing. Apart from this, leprosy, kala-azar and filariasis were also examined and persons with possible symptoms were referred for testing.
District Tuberculosis Officer Dr Piyush Rai distributed nutrition buckets among 10 TB patients at the urban community health centre in Durgakund and said that the diet with protein and vitamin is necessary for the TB patients besides the regular consumption of the medicines.
The objective of Integrated Nikshay Day is to identify the maximum TB patients and also ensure their treatment, he said and added that the treatment of TB is possible but there is a need to complete the course of treatment without the gap of even a single day.
The facility of TB test is available all the health centres and government hospitals and one should immediately get one’s test after noticing its symptoms, he said, adding that the family members of TB patients should also get their health tested once in 15 days or a month.
DPC Sanjay Chaudhary informed that if TB is identified in the early days, the patient is cured with complete treatment of six months and added that if TB treatment is left incomplete, it takes a serious form and appears as multi-drug resistant (MDR) TB. To ensure that TB patients do not become drug resistant, the Health department and the District TB Control Unit are doing regular follow-up of the patients. Not only this, `500 per month is sent directly to the patient's account as a nutrition allowance under the Nikshay Poshan Yojana, he informed.
District PPM Coordinator Naman Gupta informed that the nutrition buckets were provided to as many as 25 TB patients at Kashi Vidyapith TB Unit and added that the nutrition buckets were distributed to about 218 TB patients at various health centres and TB units of the district.
Dy CMO Dr Amit Singh, Dr Yatish Bhuvan Pathak and others were present at the CHC in Durgakund on the occasion.