Stigma still hurdle for early detection of disease, says state TB officer
Padmavati Prabhu
Panaji: Goa has reported 581 new cases of tuberculosis (TB) during the 100-day intensified TB elimination campaign, an initiative aimed at accelerating efforts to diagnose and treat TB cases across the state at an early stage.
These cases have been detected among the general population and population vulnerable to TB, which includes previous TB patients, household contacts of TB patients, people with malnutrition, diabetes and HIV, people of 60 years of age and people with history of smoking and alcohol use.
Though Goa too has initiated steps to achieve the target set by the Centre to eliminate TB by this year, the stigma attached with the disease still continues to be a major hurdle for the health authorities in detecting the cases.
“The stigma attached with the disease keeps a person away from getting screened, which is still a major challenge for us in detecting TB cases early,” said state TB officer Dr Manish Gaunekar, adding that young population, mainly alcoholics, reporting with extensive TB is another case of concern in the fight against TB.
Every year, on an average, Goa reports over 2,000 new cases of TB, nearly 80% of which are detected at the government hospitals.
Dr Gaunekar said that alcoholism and uncontrolled diabetes are two other factors delaying the elimination of TB.
“In case of diabetics, when they complete the treatment for TB, they also stop the medication for diabetes which leads to recurrence of TB. In case of diabetics, symptoms of cough of any duration should be tested for TB,” he said.
He also informed that when TB deaths in the state are analysed, it is found that nearly 40 per cent are diabetics and 30-35% are alcoholics and 20% have low body mass index (BMI).
For TB elimination, the Directorate of Health Services (DHS), Goa is implementing National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (NTEP) through its various health facilities.
Goa is the first state in the country to introduce the nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) in December 2020, which helps in diagnosing the disease early. Goa has also started CyTB test under ‘test and treat approach’ since November 2024 to screen contacts of TB patients.
Once a patient is diagnosed for TB, the treatment is started immediately and it goes on for six months. But if the patient is drug resistant, then he has to undergo treatment for almost 18-20 months and once cured, the patient has to follow up every six months.
After the end of the treatment, the patients are retested using sputum culture to prevent recurrence of TB.
