UP CM Yogi directs officials to expedite TB screening, testing

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India]: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has issued instructions for providing immediate treatment to tuberculosis patients and containment of the infection upon confirmation of the disease in any individual in the state.

This action is being taken in line with the efforts to fulfil Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s goal of making the country tuberculosis-free by 2025.

The Yogi government has also directed officials to expedite TB screening and testing of workers at construction sites of the upcoming expressways under the supervision of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) across the state.

Dr Shailendra Bhatnagar, Joint Director (Tuberculosis), State Tuberculosis Control Program, has sent a letter to the Regional Officer (East and West) of NHAI requesting cooperation to organise camps for screening.

In the letter, he has demanded cooperation from the Uttar Pradesh Expressway Industrial Development Authority to provide information about the symptoms and prevention of tuberculosis at toll plazas, rest houses, eateries and petrol pumps along the expressways.

The District Tuberculosis Officers (DTO) have been directed to provide the necessary IEC (Information, Education, and Communication) material in this regard.

Additionally, a camp for screening of labourers will also be organized by the DTO.

Furthermore, Dr Bhatnagar has also mentioned the provision for smooth transportation of patients on the national highway for timely treatment management of tuberculosis patients.

According to Dr Bhatnagar, it is essential to promote tuberculosis-free workplaces to completely eradicate tuberculosis from the state. Therefore, NHAI headquarters, regional offices, project implementation units, and all authority offices will be made tuberculosis-free. DTOs will conduct periodic screenings at worksites.

Necessary directives will be issued to the offices of the Indian National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for necessary action in this regard.

According to Dr Bhatnagar, a letter of agreement was signed under the framework of regional cooperation between the Indian National Highways Authority of India, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, the Government of India, and the Central TB Division, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, on October 10, 2022, as part of the initiative to eradicate TB from the country.