100-Day Tuberculosis (TB) Campaign:
The Government of India recently launched a 100-day tuberculosis (TB) campaign, focusing on active screening in 347 high-risk districts. In its first week, the campaign detected 6,267 new TB cases.
- Over 5 lakh individuals have been actively screened through health and wellness centres and 850 mobile testing vans.
- The campaign targets 25 crore vulnerable individuals, including:
- Family members of TB patients.
- People with conditions like diabetes, HIV, or those who smoke or drink excessively.
- Individuals with BMI below 18.5 or who had TB in the past.
- Camps are organized at health and wellness centers supported by 850 mobile testing vans.
- Screening focuses on symptoms like persistent cough (15+ days), fever, weight loss, loss of appetite, breathlessness, chest pain, and blood in sputum.
- Missing TB cases (the gap between estimated and detected cases) have been reduced from 15 lakh to 2.5 lakh, according to the Health Ministry.
Tuberculosis (TB):
- Tuberculosis (TB) is a bacterial infection caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which primarily affects the lungs.
- TB is a curable and preventable disease if detected early and treated appropriately.
- There are two types of TB infections:
- Latent TB: In this state, the bacteria remain inactive in the body and cause no symptoms. It is not contagious but can become active.
- Active TB: In this condition, the bacteria cause symptoms and can be transmitted to others.
- Globally, one-quarter of the population is estimated to have latent TB.
- Individuals infected with TB bacteria have a 5-15% lifetime risk of developing the disease.
- People with compromised immune systems—such as those with HIV, malnutrition, diabetes, or those who use tobacco—have a significantly higher risk of falling ill with TB.
