8 Andhra districts get awards for efforts in achieving TB-free status
These awards reflect the performance of the districts in reducing TB incidence over the period from 2015 to 2022
By Newsmeter Network Published on 26 March 2023 4:00 AM GMT
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Amaravati: Eight districts in Andhra Pradesh have been awarded medals for their efforts in achieving TB-free status. Out of 337 districts assessed, 18 were awarded gold, 28 silver, and 65 bronze awards.
From Andhra Pradesh, Eluru district was awarded Gold. Visakhapatnam and Konaseema districts won silver awards while Srikakulam, Anakapalli, Kakinada, West Godavari, and Guntur won bronze awards.
One World TB Summit was held in Varanasi, marking World TB Day on March 24. The event was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and various international dignitaries. The Prime Minister launched new initiatives to accelerate the progress towards a TB-free India
At the Summit, states and districts were awarded for their efforts in achieving TB-free status. A sub-national certification (SNC) assessment was carried out throughout the country to assess the efforts in achieving TB-free status. The states and districts were awarded Bronze, Silver, Gold and TB-free awards depending upon their progress.
These awards reflect the performance of the districts in reducing TB incidence over the period from 2015 to 2022.
Over 6 lakh screened in Andhra Pradesh
The SNC was carried out through three different methods in a rigorous assessment under the supervision of Central Tuberculosis Division and the National Institute of Research in Tuberculosis, Chennai. A community survey was carried out throughout the state in the months of December 2022 and January 2023.
A total of 6,30,474 individuals were screened from 2,49,208 households across Andhra Pradesh. Among them, sputum testing for TB was carried out for 7,249 individuals and 127 individuals were newly diagnosed with tuberculosis. The data from Ni-kshay database and drug sales was also verified. The district-level verification and reporting were done by the faculty of medical colleges.
In Andhra Pradesh, 92,177 TB cases were newly diagnosed in 2022. Currently, there are 19,987 cases under treatment. All efforts are being made to test the suspects and provide regular treatment to the diseased individuals.
