EMN
Dimapur, March 24
World Tuberculosis Day falls on March 24 each year. The event is designed to build public awareness about the global epidemic of tuberculosis and efforts to eliminate the disease. About one-third of the world’s population is infected with the tuberculosis bacteria. Only a small proportion of those infected will become sick with TB.
People with weakened immune systems have a much greater risk of falling ill from TB. A person living with HIV is about 26 to 31 times more likely to develop active TB. On March 24, health institutions in some districts of Nagaland observed the day with programs designed to engage citizens in spreading information and build awareness in their communities.
Along with the rest of the world, Dimapur district also observed World Tuberculosis Day at the District Hospital in Dimapur town on March 24. The program was conducted with the theme ‘Unite to end TB.’ The program was organized by the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP) of Dimapur.
The program was marked by the installation of a new Cartridge-Based Nuclic Acid Amplification Test machine (CBNAAT) which was inaugurated by deputy commissioner of Dimapur district Kesonyu Yhome.
In his keynote address, District TB Officer Dr. Tali Ozukum highlighted the ‘importance’ of the CBNAAT machine. Before the installation of the machine in the district, TB patients’ sputum samples had to be sent to Kohima or Imphal for Multi-Drug Resistant Test (MDR), he said.
In his address, deputy commissioner Kesonyu Yhome gave a brief scenario of TB in India. He stated that the growing cases of MDR were due to late diagnosis, faulty treatment, and increase in drop-out rates. It is the duty and responsibility of every individual and not only the health departments to fight TB or any other disease, Yhome said. He, therefore, urged the public, nongovernmental organizations and the department to ‘unite and fight tuberculosis.’
Students of the School of Nursing and children from Chavara Home also performed during the occasion.
The Millennium Development Goal to reverse the tuberculosis epidemic by 2015 has been achieved. The WHO End TB Strategy, adopted by the World Health Assembly in May 2014, is a blueprint for countries to end the TB epidemic by driving down TB deaths and TB incidence. It includes global impact targets to reduce TB deaths by 90% and to cut new cases by 80% between 2015 and 2030, and to ensure that no family is burdened with catastrophic costs due to TB.
Phek
The RNTCP of Phek also observed World TB Day at Chetheba, under Phek. District Tuberculosis Officer Dr. Ruokuohelie Rutsa, who was the speaker of the event, informed the gathering that TB was one of the world’s top infectious diseases.
Talking about the symptoms, he explained that persistent cough of two weeks with or without constitutional symptoms should have sputum examine for TB. The gathering was also highlighted on the diagnosis, investigation and treatment of TB which he said was for free.
The speaker also briefed the community on the goals and objectives of the RNTCP’s DOTS strategy, extent of TB problem in India, and in Phek.
The speaker called upon the gathering to unite ‘because strong community participation is needed to end TB.’
Mokokchung TB hospital which claims to have the highest percentage of cure of tuberculosis cases in Nagaland on Thursday got its cartridge-based nucleic acid amplification testing machine. The machine can detect the presence of TB bacteria in a span of two to three hours rather than the conventional methods of testing which takes longer time.
The newly-installed machine at the District Tuberculosis Hospital in Mokokchung was inaugurated by Minister for National Highways, Mechanical Engineering and Election, Nuklutoshi.
Addressing a reception at the Imkongliba Disrict Memorial Hospital, the chief guest said that the new machine will benefit the people in combating TB. He said that the machine represented the fast pace of advancement in health technology. Nonetheless, he maintained that ‘human touch and compassion’ can never be replaced in the healing process.
The politician also stated that the doctors and the nurses were in one of the ‘noblest professions’ in the world. He urged them to work with dedication, sincerity, and humanity.
Also, the Chief Medical officer of Mokokchung, Dr SS Akaba Longchar, informed that Mokokchung has got 90 percent cure rate which he said was ‘higher than the national achievement in combat TB.’ He added that the TB center in Mokokchung was performing better than that of other districts. The ‘TB treatment defaulters’ is only 2 percent, he said and added that it was ‘far better than the national level.’
Along with the rest of the state, World Tuberculosis Day was observed in Mon town, Mon district, on March 24. The deputy commissioner of the district W Honje Konyak was the guest of honour at event that was conducted at the Mon District Hospital Complex.
Exhorting the gathering, Konyak said that the main focus of observing the event ‘should be to unite and to organize awareness campaign to reach out to the people to eradicate TB from the society.’
He appealed to the health departments in concern and the nongovernmental organizations in partnership to play a role and ‘to work harder and walk extra mile to disseminate the information to the people.’ He urged the departments and organizations to take the help of the churches and the civil organizations to come up with ‘a proper strategy to create awareness campaign.’
Konyak also asserted that due to lack of information, many people are unaware of the facilities to fight tuberculosis; these facilities are provided for free in the hospitals. The people go outside of the state for TB treatment instead because of ignorance, the deputy commissioner said.
Further, Konyak lamented that even after 144 years of the discovery of the Tb virus, the Konyak community was ‘still in the awareness period and the detection rate very high.’ He appealed to the young Konyak local doctors to create a forum to educate, to mobilize, to influence, and to disseminate awareness and ‘change the mindset of the ignorant public.’
Also, talking about the significance of the day and activities of the TB Control Programme in the district was Dr. M. Imyangluba Ao, district TB officer of Mon. He spoke about the symptoms and treatment of TB. Irregular use of medicines result in drug resistance and prolong treatment, the health official said. He appealed to the departments and communities to ‘jointly combat TB through awareness campaigns and end social stigma and discrimination.’
The president of a local community group, Lomei Konyak said in a short speech that ‘TB is curable but fatal if untreated,’ and urged the students to carry back information to their parents back at home. Acknowledging the high TB detection rate in Mon district, she urged the district administration and the department to propose a separate TB hospital for Mon district.
Also, Sashi Imchen of the TB Forum of Mon appealed to the nongovernmental organizations and civil society of Mon district to extend cooperation and support the TB Control Program activities. Without their ownership and participation, he said, the program would be a failure.
Kehile Semp, DCO of Project Axshya CHAI, gave away prizes to the winners of an essay competition that was organized for students to mark the day.
The Kohima District Tuberculosis Control Society (KDTBCS) under the establishment of the Chief Medical Officer of the district observed World Tuberculosis Day with a formal program with the community of Chedema village, under Kohima district. The event as conducted at the village’s health sub-centre on March 24 with the theme “Unite to End TB”.
The programme was observed with the objective of generating awareness and to mobilize political and social commitments for progress towards eliminating Tuberculosis as a public health burden. During the programme, Deputy Chief Medical Officer of the district Dr. Neisakho Kere stated that in spite of the availability of effective treatment, nearly one-and-half million deaths occur globally every year. Tuberculosis remains a ‘curse to humanity causing vast socio economic loss mostly in developing countries,’ the official stated.
Dr. Mezhiinuo Angami, senior specialist at the TB Hospital of Khuzama, said in her keynote address that on March 24 in 1882, Dr. Robert Koch astounded the scientific community by announcing the discovery of the causative agent of tuberculosis called Mycobactarium tuberculosis. She elaborated about the disease and explained its symptoms.
Saying that Tuberculosis was an infectious disease spread through air, she asked the participants about the benefits of availing DOTS and MDR. They prevent the spread of tuberculosis and thus reduce incidences and prevalence, the specialist said. She requested the public to ‘join hands in preventing TB disease’ and encouraged the villagers to spread awareness about the disease so that stigma and discrimination can be removed from the mindset of the people.
Chedema village’s chairman, Sabeituo, and the village’s health committee’s chairman Kruvilie, thanked the health department for organizing the programme in the village.
A patient also spoke about his journey of treatment under the DOTS programme and support given by district TB Control Society.
To mark the day, an essay writing competition was conducted. Three students, three cured TB patients, a lab technician and village council chairman were felicitated in acknowledgment of their efforts in fighting against TB.
