Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Following the screening of people under the special Ni-kshay campaign aimed at making Madhya Pradesh Tuberculosis-free, the state has identified 95% of the patients. Officials said the medicaltreatment drop rate and multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) burden happen to be more challenging in cracking down on TB in the state.
According to the National Health Mission (NHM), an intensive TB detection and treatment drive was conducted under the 100-day Special Ni-kshay campaign from December 2024. During this period, 21,430 new TB patients were identified and were immediately put on treatment.
The NHM said that MP’s TB treatment success rate stands at 87%, which is above the national average. From November 1, 2024, the NHM has been providing financial assistance of ₹1,000 per month to all notified TB patients.
Dr Manoj Verma, former state TB hospital in-charge, said, “The main focus is always on checking on treatment dropouts in the state. MDR-TB burden is also a key factor in MP. There should be proper coordination with patients who move from one place to another, as that leads to treatment dropouts. Secondly, the prevalence of MDR-TB is 5%. We change the medicines in case patients have developed resistance against particular medicines. These are the main factors for the health department team working to track down TB patients.”
