Kolkata, Nov 2 (IANS) Nadia has topped among the districts in West Bengal in the tuberculosis eradication campaign programme under the “Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan”.

According to the statistics provided by the Nadia district administration, out of the total 185 village panchayats in the district, not a single case of tuberculosis has been reported in 15 village panchayats in the last three years, which is considered as “Gold Standard” as per the national programme on tuberculosis eradication.

Similarly, in 33 village panchayats in Nadia district, not a single case of tuberculosis has been reported in the last two years, which is considered as “Silver Standard” as per the same national programme.

At the same time, in 50 village panchayats in Nadia district, not a single case of tuberculosis has been reported in the last year, which is considered “Bronze Standard” as per the national programme.

This means that currently a total of 98 of 185 village panchayats in Nadia district are tuberculosis-free.

According to Nadia’s district magistrate, Dr Srikanth Palli, this success has come as a result of continuous initiatives in tuberculosis detection, regular treatment, surveillance and awareness raising.

“About 20 years ago, the number of tuberculosis patients in Nadia district was around 30 times higher than the current number. The situation has totally changed now for the better,” he added.

According to him, tuberculosis needs long-term treatment and, depending on the severity of the disease, the treatment period can be as long as six and 18 months.

“However, it was noticed earlier that after the beginning of the medication process, often people stopped taking medicines midway after getting the initial relief from the cough and decline in infection level. This tendency used to increase the risk of drug-resistant tuberculosis, where treatment became even more difficult,” he added.

Therefore, he added, in the last few years the emphasis was especially given to ensuring that the patients go through the entire medication process, continuing the medicine for the full period as per the doctors’ advice.

Currently, around 350 volunteers are involved in Nadia district alone as ‘Nikshay Mitra’. They are responsible for helping the affected people with treatment and nutrition,” Palli added.

–IANS

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