UP achieves another milestone in the fight against TB

The Uttar Pradesh government has achieved another milestone in the fight against tuberculosis, achieving significant success in detecting and treating tuberculosis patients across the state.

This financial year, UP has once again surpassed other states in its efforts to make the state tuberculosis-free. With a target of detecting 6.5 lakh TB patients, the state has achieved 86 per cent of this target by the end of October, positioning itself as the leading state in TB notifications.

According to the latest data, Uttar Pradesh stands first with the highest number of reported cases, followed by Maharashtra with 1,85.67, indicating that the state is on track to exceed its TB notification target once again.

Experts believe that detecting and treating as many tuberculosis patients as possible is crucial to eradicating the disease from the country and from Uttar Pradesh. To support this effort, the Central TB Division set notification targets for each state at the beginning of the year.

Uttar Pradesh has been given a target of detecting 6.5 lakh TB patients, up from 5.5 lakh last year. As of October 31, the state identified 5.59 lakh TB patients and private doctors played a major role in reaching this number.

Nearly 40 percent of these cases (more than two hundred thousand patients) were registered through private doctors. In cities like Agra, Mathura, Jhansi, Kanpur, Meerut and Moradabad, private doctors outperformed government doctors in tuberculosis reporting.

In Lucknow, Gorakhpur and Bareilly, both the government and the private sector contributed equally to identifying tuberculosis cases. State Tuberculosis Officer Dr. Following Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s mission, efforts to make Uttar Pradesh tuberculosis-free by 2025 are in full swing, Shailendra Bhatnagar said here on Sunday.

Thanks to these stringent measures, the state continues to lead in tuberculosis notifications across the country. Key initiatives of the Ministry of Health such as the monthly Integrated Nikshay Diwas on the 15th, Active Case Finding, ACF, Campaign and the ongoing Dastak Abhiyan have significantly increased progress towards this target.

Last year, these efforts enabled the state to meet 115 percent of its TB reporting goal. In 2023, the target was set at 5.5 lakh notifications, but Uttar Pradesh successfully identified 6.33 lakh patients.

While many private doctors across the state are actively cooperating with the government to fight tuberculosis, some districts are lagging in private notifications. For example, Shravasti reported only 38 special notices this year.

Other districts with low special notifications include Mahoba, Sant Ravidas Nagar, Hamirpur, Kannauj, Sonbhadra, Chitrakoot, Sultanpur, Amethi and Kanpur Dehat. There is an urgent need to increase the involvement of private physicians in these regions to enhance tuberculosis detection and treatment efforts.