'0.3 million new tuberculosis cases emerge every year'

Around 300,000 new tuberculosis cases are reported every year in the country with 75 percent of patients in the productive age group from 15 to 49 years. National Manager, TB Control Programme Dr Noor Ahmad Baloch said this while addressing the consultative meeting with health reporters on 'stop TB strategy ', organised by the National TB Control Programme here on Tuesday.
He said Pakistan was among the high TB burden countries in the world however he added the case treatment success rate was 85 percent while case detection rate is 70 percent. He said under the programme, the ministry of Health had planned to improve the living standard of those who were affected with the disease. He said the government had started DOTS programme in 2000 at all level under which 5000 diagnostic and treatment centres had been established throughout the country.
He added 2000 general practitioners had also been trained to provide treatment services to the coming patients. He added enough medicines were available to provide free of cost treatment to the TB patients in all four provinces. He said under new stop TB strategy more focus was on advocacy and social mobilisation as general public should know about the disease prevention besides diagnostic and treatment services being provided to the affected persons in the country.
Dr Noor Ahmad Baloch said TB was public health problem and there were hurdles in full coverage of the disease however he said this issue would be resolved soon. He said through effective awareness campaigns interpersonal communication could be used as an effective tool to reduce stigma attached with the disease.
He said media role was important in dissemination of information regarding the disease and asked the media persons to play their due role for control of disease in the country. Technical Advisor National TB Control Programme Dr Muhammad Tariq said that health education was a key intervention to make people aware of issues related to the disease including tackling social stigma.
He said private hospitals were also being brought under the net to provide free treatment to the TB patients besides enhancing laboratories network for the proper diagnostic of the disease. He asked for making joint efforts to eliminate tuberculosis from the country and sensitise the masses about the preventive measures.