100 days TB elimination campaign: Nikshay Shivir review meet pushes to identify, test vulnerable sections

CHENNAI: Urging for a collaborative approach between the public health machinery to ensure the success of the 100 Days Tuberculosis Elimination Campaign, director of the National Health Mission instructed district health officers to identify and map vulnerable populations at the grassroots level, specifically at the health sub centre (HSC) level.

At a review meeting on the progress of the Nikshay Shivir activities, he emphasised that the Directorate of Public Health, Preventive Medicine, Directorate of Medical Education and Research, and the Directorate of Medical and Rural Health Services should work closely toward the goal of TB eradication.

Vulnerable populations will be identified for testing from the Makkalai Thedi Maruthuvam list, which will be linked to the HSC area and then mapped to Primary Health Centres concerned.

The Director of Public Health and Preventive Medicine stated that all asymptomatic vulnerable populations should be mobilised for chest X-rays at government hospitals or district health units, and they should be tracked for their x-ray interpretation, which should be entered on the NIKSHAY portal.

All symptomatic cases should be referred for both X-ray and sputum testing and tested by smear microscopy/NAAT. In case any TB case is notified, medical officers should start treatment, contact screening and TB preventive therapy for contacts.

Data of identified vulnerable populations should be entered in the Nikshay Shivir portal and the Joint Director of Medical and Rural Health Services to include all the private health facilities in the Nikshay Shivir campaign.

The mission director added that meetings should be arranged with private practitioners through the Indian Medical Association to raise awareness about the campaign. Additionally, all private health facilities should be brought under the Clinical Establishment Act for training.

The director also instructed the deans of medical colleges to screen vulnerable populations, especially symptomatic individuals, attending OPDs, under the Nikshay Shivir campaigns. He noted that a central team will visit Madurai and Dindigul for Nikshay Shivir monitoring.

Emphasising the importance of the quality of sputum collection and testing and monitoring of TB positivity rates, he instructed the city health officer of the Greater Chennai Corporation to map all vulnerable populations, as the current mapping is significantly less than the actual population.