HP committed to eradication of TB: govt

Shimla, Jul 2 (UNI) The Himachal Pradesh Government is committed to eradicate tuberculosis from the state and is actively implementing the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP), an official spokesman said today.

Under the programme, five trauma centres in the state have also been started in Bilaspur, Hamirpur and Solan with an outlay of Rs nine crore.

The spokesman said the state government was also exploring the possibilities of establishing tele-medicine network with a few top medical institutions of the country.

After the implementation of the RNTCP in Kangra district of the state, the number of patients has come down to four per cent from a high of 26 per cent six years back, he said.

He said the programme envisages to achieve a high cure rate of new sputum smear-positive patients, thereby interrupting the chain of transmission.

The only effective means by which 85 per cent cure rate has been achieved due to the application of the so-called DOTS (Directly Observed Treatment, Short course Chemotherapy) strategy, he said.

The spokesman said DOTS system of medicine reflects the political and administrative commitment of both the state and the central governments since the eradication of the disease depended on good quality diagnosis apart from good quality drugs.

Nationally too, the RNTCP has achieved a success rate of 85 per cent from a low of 25 per cent, he said.

The programme has also helped in bringing down the death rate due to the disease to four per cent from 29 per cent.

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