Sikkim overachieves TB control targets

Gangtok, Mar 20 (UNI) Sikkim's Tuberculosis Cell (STC) has surpassed its target in the fight against Tuberculosis with 130 per cent detection and 88 per cent cure rate since the programme launched in 2002.

''Our TB detection rate is 130 per cent and cure rate hovers between 87-88 per cent,'' said Dr JJD Pradhan, the head of STC, yesterday.

The global benchmark under Revised National TB Control Programme (RNTBCP) is 75 per cent for detection and 85 per cent for cure of TB.

Explaining the overachievement, Dr Pradhan said that 75 per cent target was to detect TB in every 53 people in one lakh which in Sikkim, the STC has detected around 86 people, an 130 per cent achievement. ''Our cure rate has been constantly between around 88 per cent,'' he said.

Sikkim is one of the few states to boast such success along with Arunachal Pradesh.

According to 2001 census, Sikkim had a population of 5.4 lakh and presently around 6 lakh.

Dr Pradhan said the Multi-Drug Resistant TB was very rampant among the Tibetans, who have settled at Ravangla, South Sikkim.

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