KOHAT, April 14: The district health department has detected 68 cases of tuberculosis during a survey of villages situated near the Rawalpindi Road during the past six months. Most of the cases have been detected in the area where a 20-kilometre road is under construction from Cavagnari House to Gambat for the last two years and a cement factory is also located.

In a related development, the government has established diagnosis centres in Kohat city, Jangle Khel, Dhodha, Kharmatu, Togh Bala, Bili Tang, Gumbat, Chorlakki and Khushalgarh under the DOTS programme to check the disease.

The Coordinator for the Direct Observed Treatment Short Course (DOTS), Dr Bilqias Khan, told Dawn that in the first phase cases of tuberculosis would be detected through mobile teams. In the second phase, the patients would be provided free-of-cost treatment in the hospital.

He said the patients would be given free-of-cost medicines for eight months. He said due to the long period of treatment it is the duty of the family members of the patients to attend them and give them medicines regularly.

He appealed to the people that if they found any case of TB in their area they should bring the patient to the Liaquat Memorial Hospital or the KDA Complex for treatment. He said that a TB patient could spread the disease to 15 people if proper precautions were not taken by the community.

He further said that for the DOTS programme 17 doctors and four laboratory assistants and woman supervisors each had been specially trained by the health department.

TRAFFIC AWARENESS: A traffic awareness workshop was held in the Government High School No.1 on Tuesday where the ASP, headquarters, Atta Mohammad, delivered a lecture. Later the schoolchildren, \ drivers and teachers held a walk on the Bannu road for creating awareness among the people about traffic laws.