Uttar Pradesh responsible for 20% of total notified TB cases in country, says India Tuberculosis Report 2019

New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh has the largest number of TB patients and it is responsible for over 20 percent of the total number of notified cases of this disease in the country, revealed the India Tuberculosis Report 2019 on Wednesday. [caption id=“attachment_7406201” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Union health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan. PTI[/caption] According to the report which reveals the data for the year 2018, around 4.2 lakh cases from Uttar Pradesh were notified to the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP) in the country. A total number of 21.5 lakh cases of tuberculosis were registered in the year 2018, the report released by Union health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan here revealed. The Union Minister also flagged off the National TB Prevalence Survey Vans, which will move around several districts of the country to help identify people suffering from the disease. “In 1997, my brother-in-law died due to prolonged illness. Though he was admitted to a top Delhi government hospital, we could not save him. He was diagnosed with multi-drug resistant TB. We all have to fight tuberculosis by making it a national movement,” he said. According to the report, the year 2018 saw the highest number of notified TB cases so far with a 16 percent increase as compared to the previous year. It also revealed that two states, Delhi and Chandigarh, stand apart from all the other states and union territories with regard to the notification rate relative to their population. “Delhi recorded 504 cases per lakh population whereas Chandigarh reported 496 cases per lakh population,” the report said. Vardhan said that the government is building a national movement and is committed to eliminating the disease by the year 2025. “While the global target to eliminate TB is 2030, as appealed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we fulfill our target by 2025. Accordingly, we have increased allocation towards the program by four-folds and are confident of achieving our target,” he said. Under the National Strategic Plan for eradicating tuberculosis, the RNTCP is strengthening private sector engagement in order to reach out to more patients and improve access to healthcare, via the Patient-Provider Support Agency and provision of incentives to doctors for notifying the disease and treatment outcomes. As a result, of these initiatives, is the total notification, 25 percent (5.4 lakhs) cases were from the private sector, a 40 percent increase from the last year. This PPSA model has been scaled up to 48 cities throughout the country. 79 percent of the total patients notified for TB in 2017 have successfully completed their treatment. April 2018, more than 20.8 lakh beneficiaries have received benefits of Rs 427 crores under Nikshay Poshan Yojana. Under this scheme, all TB patients are given Rs 500 per month for nutritional assistance during the course of treatment. A national-level committee has also been formed that includes membership from 17 ministries.