TB detection rate up by 44% during intensified campaign

Srinagar,  Feb 23: The PM’s 100-day TB Eradication programme running across the country including J&K has spiked the efforts for detection and treatment of Tuberculosis. Official data reveals over 2500 new cases have been confirmed in the last 67 days, significantly higher than average last year.

Although J&K has made significant strides in the eradication of tuberculosis over the past years according to health metrics, doctors believe more efforts need to be put in to make the rural and urban areas have a lesser burden of the disease that could prove fatal in some cases. The intensified awareness, testing, and treatment efforts under PM Modi's 100-Day TB Eradication Campaign have given a major fillip to early detection efforts, data reveals.

Since December 10, when the campaign was formally launched in J&K, till the time this report was filed, 2534 cases were detected here, Nikshay figures state. Nikshay is the web data service under the National Tuberculosis Elimination Program that is updated on a daily basis. Of these cases, 2008 were reported from government facilities while 285 were reported from private facilities. TB is a notifiable disease, although notification from non-governmental sectors has been an issue as per the officials. In 2

The data for the past two months, when compared to TB detection figures before the campaign, show a significant rise in numbers. In January 2024, 875 cases were detected in J&K as per Nikshay. In January 2025, 1262 cases were detected, a 44 percent increase. In most months of 2024, TB detection has hovered around 700 and 800, the campaign giving the necessary push to the healthcare efforts to detect more and treat more, the officials said.

Three districts in J&K are part of the efforts under the campaign: Srinagar, Baramulla, and Jammu. An Active Case Finding vehicle with equipment to help in immediate testing of samples such as Miniature X Ray and a CB NAT for sputum testing has been doing rounds, in addition to various health facilities organising awareness campaigns. Doctors treating tuberculosis have expressed hope that the TB detection activities continue to focus on early detection and timely treatment in addition to ensuring treatment adherence.

The highlight of the campaign is the focus on increasing access to advanced diagnostics and targeted screening, specialised care for high-risk individuals and expanded nutritional support and deployment of mobile ultraportable, AI-enabled X-ray units and molecular tests.