Coimbatore: Van to diagnose TB patients

Coimbatore: Under the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP), a ‘CBNAAT mobile van’ armed with advanced equipment to diagnose TB was flagged off by district collector Mr. T N Hariharan on Monday. As part of the programme, the van visited several disease-prone pockets like Podanur, Madakkarai, Somanur, Singanalur, Pooluvapatty, Karamadai, Pogalur, Ramalinga colony and Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital (CMCH) from Monday to Saturday in the city to screen patients for TB.

“Villages around Madukkarai, Kempetty, Thondamuthur, Somanur and Mettupalayam are declared TB prone areas based on the number of patients who visited the health centers for treatment in the past.” Arun Prasad district programme manager said. A source from the city health department shared that patients diagnosed with TB stopped visiting health centers once symptoms of the disease subsided and discontinued treatment. Thus, the idea to reach out to the masses through the mobile van was introduced.

The ‘CBNAAT van’ is equipped with machinery to carry out the ‘GeneXpert TB test’ that takes only two hours to be performed. Four samples can be tested at a time. The patients identified with the disease are referred to the nearest health centre for treatment. As on Saturday, the mobile van has made its journey to 26 districts in the state and the remaining six days will be covered in the following days.

While there is no data available to throw light on the actual number of patients suffering from the disease, in Coimbatore, an official from the district health society RNTCP shared with DC numbers of the patients who are registered with the centre and have undergone or are currently under treatment for the disease.