KARACHI, June 21: The provincial Tuberculosis Control Programme will be extended until June of 2006 at a total estimated cost of Rs170.768 million.
According to Dr Ghulam Nabi Khokhar, director of the Tuberculosis Control Programme-Sindh, the objectives include increase of the case detection rate to 70 per cent of the estimated incidence by the year 2005, increasing the treatment success rate of the newly-diagnosed cases to 85 per cent in all the districts of Sindh.
In a statement released to the press, he said meeting the above targets would lead to a reduction in the prevalence, and also the deaths due to TB, by 50 per cent by the year 2010.
He said the PC-1 was being revised in consultation with the department of health and the WHO offices in Karachi.
Dr Khokhar stated that the programme objectives will be achieved by promoting early case detection of sputum smear positive pulmonary cases by sputum smear microscopy, ensuring effective chemotherapy for the recommended period for all TB patients diagnosed on the basis of directly observed treatment strategy (DOTS).
The network of laboratories at all diagnostic centres in each district and the provincial referral laboratory at the Ojha Institute of Chest Diseases would be strengthened by training of staff, provision of additional staff and disposables through the courtesy of the National TB Control Programme (NTP).
The programme will also establish Intermediate level referral laboratories for quality control and supervision of laboratory services at the district level, at the Institute of Chest Diseases Kotri and the TB Hospital Khairpur, claimed the press release.
Dr Khokhar expressed the hope that the project would be approved soon by the Provincial Development Working Party.
The WHO operations officer for Sindh, Dr Ghulam Nabi Kazi, claimed that the universal DOTS coverage will be achieved in Sindh by June or July this year. Thereafter, DOTS will be made more comprehensive by involving autonomous bodies, federal government health institutions, tertiary care hospitals, social security organizations, centres run by NGOs and other private sector organizations.
Ultimately general practitioners in the private sector will also be trained in the DOTS methodology — organizing DOTS as close to the patients’ homes as possible by increasing the number of treatment centres.
The use of the DOTS standardized system of recording and reporting will be expanded all over the province through public sector and private sector care providers treating tuberculosis patients under DOTS and monitoring and supervision of the programme will be beefed up at all levels, added the handout.