Lucknow, January 5: Uttar Pradesh has once again emerged as the top-performing state in tuberculosis (TB) notifications, achieving record-breaking success in identifying and treating TB patients in 2024. The state notified 6.73 lakh TB cases by the end of 2024, surpassing the target of identifying 6.5 lakh patients. This remarkable achievement follows a similar success in 2023, where UP exceeded the set target.
Maharashtra secured the second position with 2.25 lakh patients identified, followed by Bihar with 2 lakh notifications. Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan reported 1.78 lakh and 1.70 lakh TB patients respectively.
Experts believe that the only way to eradicate TB is by identifying and treating as many patients as possible across both the country and the state. In line with this goal, the Central TB Division had set notification targets for all states at the beginning of 2024. Uttar Pradesh was tasked with identifying 6.5 lakh patients, a goal the state not only met but significantly surpassed.
According to official data, all 6.73 lakh identified patients have begun treatment. A key contributor to this success has been the involvement of private doctors, who accounted for the identification of over 2.5 lakh patients, roughly 40% of the total notifications in the state.
State TB Officer Dr. Shailendra Bhatnagar expressed his satisfaction with the achievement, crediting the state’s top leadership and effective implementation of initiatives such as the Integrated Nikshay Diwas (held on the 15th of each month), the Active Case Finding (ACF) campaign, and the Dastak campaign.
These programs have been instrumental in identifying TB symptoms across communities. Currently, a 100-day intensive TB campaign is underway, focusing on detecting high-risk and presumptive TB cases across the state.
The role of private doctors has been pivotal in cities such as Mathura, Agra, Kanpur, Gorakhpur, and Jhansi, where their contributions have been commendable. In cities like Lucknow, Meerut, Moradabad, Bareilly, and Ghaziabad, both government and private sector notifications have been equally balanced. However, Shravasti recorded only 44 private notifications in the past year, highlighting the need for greater private-sector involvement.
Other districts with limited private notifications include Mahoba (255), Sonbhadra (374), Chitrakoot (376), Hamirpur (380), Kannauj (444), Sultanpur (444), Amethi (447), Sant Ravidas Nagar (456), Chandauli (488), and Kanpur Dehat (468). Increasing private sector participation in these regions remains crucial for the state’s ongoing efforts to eradicate TB.
