The BMC will intensify its programme to detect more tuberculosis cases in the city by launching a directory designed solely for the purpose to provide TB related information. At present, the TB count in the city is more than 40,000 patients, of which 32,000 cases have been reported from public hospitals, while 8,500 have been reported from private laboratories and dispensaries. Experts have, however, claimed that the actual count of TB is almost double the current pool. “The directory will be distributed to various hospitals, health centers and private set-ups. It will help symptomatic cases to get easy check-up facility in their respective wards,” said Dr Minnie Khetarpal, Deputy Executive Health Officer in the civic health department. While the official announcement of the directory will be made on World Tuberculosis Day, which falls on March 24, the directories will be distributed at a later date, confirmed sources from the health department. Initially, a total of 1,000 copies will be printed and the entire directory will be displayed on the official website of Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM). “The directory will have all TB related details. It will have addresses of centers across the city and the dispensaries located in various areas for DOTS (Directly Observed Treatment, Short-course). It will also have contact numbers for microscopic diagnostic facilities, so that patients can simply look up the nearest centre and visit it,” Khetarpal added. In recent years, the city has witnessed a rise in the total count of TB cases, which authorities attribute to better detection techniques under the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP). With the directory, civic health authorities hope to reach out to more citizens and get further accuracy in the TB count. As many as 5,230 drug sensitive and 453 multi-drug resistant (MDR) cases have been reported in the last two months, and 24 extensively drug resistant (XDR) TB cases have been recorded by the civic health department. tabassum.barnagarwala@expressindia.com
