TB cases in state up 132% in 9 years
The state government has identified over 80,000 patients of Tuberculosis (TB) this year. Of these, the highest number, over 8,000 each, have been reported from Gurugram and Faridabad districts. In 2015, the number of patients were 35,000.
Director General Health Services (DGHS) (Programming) Dr Kuldeep Singh said as many as 81,500 individuals had been diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB) in 2024. The highest number of patients have been reported from Gurugram and Faridabad followed by Hisar, Karnal and Mewat.
He said, “Both Gurugram and Faridabad are highly-populated areas where people live in congested environments. TB spreads rapidly in highly-populous and congested areas. People live in highly congested environments in Mewat as well. We also found that 46 percent of the patients were under-nourished and had low body-mass index.”
Dr Kuldeep attributed the high detection to increased number of tests conducted for TB and said, “We have increased the number of tests conducted for TB from 2 lakh tests in 2015 to 8 lakh tests conducted this year. We strategically tested family members and nearby contacts of TB patients and other people with symptoms. On the other hand, Punjab which has more population than Haryana and also stands more affected by drugs has identified only 51,000, while neighbouring Himachal Pradesh has identified only 21,000 patients this year.”
Meanwhile, the overall death rate due to TB in Haryana this year is 22 deaths per one lakh infected individuals against 28 deaths per one lakh infected population in 2015.
DGHS Dr Manish Bansal said the state has launched 65 vans under the national TB elimination campaign which will go to high-risk areas across all districts and will hold check-up camps and begin treatment of patients.
He said, “One TB patient can infects 10 new people in a year. But detection of the disease, followed by timely treatment can prevent its further spread. We have prepared a micro plan to reach all affected persons. Now on we will specially focus on people from poor backgrounds and those living in high-risk areas.”
