Hyderabad: An RTI query by Mr. Mujtaba Hassan, an RTI activist, on the number of TB cases reported in the state last year elicited a shocking revelation of about 45,000 cases in the state of Telangana.
What was more alarming in the report was the fact that private hospitals in the state are flouting the guidelines set by government of India (GOI) and not reporting the cases to the GOI, despite the government making it mandatory through an executive order. Only about 0.4 million cases have been reported since 2012, as per the National Strategic Plan (NSP) document for elimination of TB.
The report highlights the issues faced by patients in the state with nearly 30 per cent of the new cases having been diagnosed from Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy district. Private hospitals have registered only 5,765 cases even as over 60 per cent of the patients are being treated at private hospitals.
The report says that 905 new cases related to multi drug resistant TB (MDRTB) were diagnosed in 2016 and 817 in 2015. An MDRTB patient, once admitted to a hospital, has to continue treatment for two years.
Of the 1,722 MDRTB patients, only 1,509 have been registered with the government hospital. There is no update from the private hospitals on the remaining 213 reported admitted there. “There is no provision to track the MDRTB cases through “Nikshay” a web portal launched by ministry of health/central TB division. Many of the cases in this way go unreported,” noted the activist.
He added, “There is a non-compliance by the private sector and the issue is alarming because there are many TB cases which are going unnoticed only because of the negligence of the private sector. The state of Telangana should also follow the model of Maharashtra wherein '5000 of fine is levied for non-compliance.”
The process of rolling out ‘Bedaquiline’ drug as approved by the central TB division, should be speeded up, as it’s the right of patients to secure their health and life.
Only about 0.4 million cases have been reported since 2012, as per the NSP document for elimination of TB.
Many cases are going unnoticed only because of the negligence of the private sector.
