PESHAWAR, March 8: The TB Control Programme for the NWFP has found 710 new cases of tuberculosis in five districts hit by the October 8 earthquake. “It was a challenge for us to continue treatment of already registered patients, besides putting in place facilities to find new cases. About 80 per cent of the health facilities were completely or partially damaged by the quake,” said Dr Abdul Ghafoor, manager of the TB Control Programme.

Talking to reporters on Wednesday, he said that TB infected about 250,000 people in the country each year. The NWFP and Fata together recorded 40,000 new patients a year.

He said factors such as poverty, displacement and congested living conditions coupled with malnutrition were responsible for the spread of the disease.

“Soon after the tragedy, the provincial health department chalked out programmes in collaboration with its partner organizations to get the damaged health facilities in Abbottabad, Shangla, Mansehra, Kohistan and Battagram operational.”

He said the TB Control Programme had sent 1,500 additional medicine-courses for patients whereas WHO, GTZ, Mercy Corp and other organizations assisted the department in restoring damaged diagnostic and treatment centres.

He said that the German GTZ agency had donated 15 microscopes, furniture and equipment while WHO erected 33 tents and Mercy Corp established two centres. “We have so far re-established 18 diagnostic centres and strengthened 27 treatment centres to cater to the needs of the people,” he said.

“We have detected 710 new TB cases in 31 diagnostic and 118 treatment centres in the quake-hit zone of the NWFP from October to December 2005,” he said. “To further strengthen scope of monitoring and supervision of the programme, one technical officer of the WHO and five TB coordinators in the five districts are working to help TB patients.”

Dr Ghafoor said that the provincial TB control programme would take measures to combat the disease by strengthening the detection and treatment work. registered 24,483 patients in the NWFP in 2005 while 17,805 cases had been detected this year. We have planned to provide diagnostic and treatment facilities to 27,000 patients during 2006,” he said.

In reply to a question, he said the programme had high detection rate in the NWFP than in other three provinces. He said the World Health Organization had recommended 70 per cent diagnosis and 85 per cent successful treatment of TB cases. “We are providing 100 per cent free of cost diagnostic and treatment facilities in all 24 districts of the province under DOTS (directly observed treatment short course),” he added.