The BMC on Monday launched an adult BCG vaccination campaign to combat tuberculosis (TB). On the first day of the drive, 1,990 citizens got vaccinated across 12 civic wards.
Supported by the Indian Council of Medical Research, the campaign is specifically designed to target high-risk groups. BMC executive health officer Dr Daksha Shah said that the drive will cover TB patients treated in the last five years, the household contacts of patients from the past three years, self-reported diabetics and smokers, malnourished individuals, and those aged 60 years and above.
The vaccination is voluntary and written consent is obtained from eligible beneficiaries, said a BMC health official. “Since September, health volunteers and ASHA workers have been surveying eligible individuals and a list of beneficiaries was finalised between October and December,” said Dr Shah. The initiative aligns with the national tuberculosis elimination programme, which aims to eradicate TB by 2025, she added.
Apart from the inoculation drive for high-risk groups, the civic body has also introduced the initiative of the Cy-TB testing for early detection of latent infections. Dr Shah explained that Cy-TB is a skin test based on tuberculosis antigens. Similar to the tuberculin skin test, it requires individuals to visit a doctor within 48-72 hours for results.
“This affordable and effective diagnostic tool is now available free of cost in Mumbai. It helps identify individuals infected with TB bacteria, who are yet to show symptoms,” said Dr Shah. The test primarily targets household contacts of patients to assess their risk of developing TB in the future,” she added.
BMC chief Bhushan Gagrani has requested all citizens to take advantage of the drive and contact their nearest health centres, clinics or TB staff for further information.
