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A vulnerable population is a group of people in whom the prevalence or incidence of tuberculosis (TB) is significantly higher than in the general population.
As per India’s Tuberculosis (TB) notification rule, each diagnostic laboratory, including private labs, must report diagnosed TB patient details to the National TB Elimination Program (NTEP) utilizing the digital surveillance system called Nikshay. As of March 2021, 20899 private laboratories are mapped in the Nikshay online portal for notification of diagnosed TB cases.
Private laboratories provide a variety of TB diagnostic services which includes:
Ayushman Bharat-Health and Wellness Centers (AB-HWCs) are being provided with anti-TB drugs, consumables and financial support under NTEP.
Uninterrupted supply of drugs and consumables and proper financial support forms the important components of TB elimination program. Under AB-HWC, many Primary Health Centres (PHCs) and Urban-PHCs will have microscopy centers which will need periodic supply of laboratory consumables. Similarly, under National TB Elimination Program (NTEP), TB treatment services are also decentralized, demanding uninterrupted supply of drugs.
The National Tuberculosis (TB) Elimination Program’s Tuberculosis Unit (TU) Drug Store is the functional unit of the TU that deals with the supply chain management of anti-TB drugs.
The Strength, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threat (SWOT) analysis of the National Tuberculosis Elimination Program (NTEP), as documented in the National Strategic Plan (NSP) 2020-25 is presented in the table below.
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STRENGTHS |
WEAKNESS |
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National Tuberculosis (TB) Elimination Program’s (NTEP) Nikshay portal has a Direct Beneficiary Transfer (DBT) module for Nikshay Poshan Yojana (NPY) Scheme.
Under this scheme, each TB patient is provided with 500 INR per month, which is directly deposited into their bank account. The amount is provided for the entire duration of TB treatment and is provided for nutritional support to TB patients.
The National Tuberculosis (TB) Elimination Program (NTEP) has evolved over a period of time. To incorporate the new policy decisions and get better data, the number of recording and reporting formats have also increased.
The paper-based formats have undergone revision and capture necessary information related with TB patient demographics, TB diagnosis, patient comorbidities, TB treatment follow-up, adverse drug reaction and treatment outcome.
Key paper-based recording and reporting formats include:
The National Tuberculosis Elimination Program (NTEP) uses the following methods to ensure the reliability of Drug-resistant Tuberculosis (DR-TB) diagnostic tests:
Quality Assurance and Control of Tests
Under the National Program for Tuberculosis (TB) Elimination, the screening for active TB is an important activity with the following aims and objectives:
Figure: Aims and Objectives of Screening for Active TB
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease and India carries one fourth of global burden of tuberculosis. To break the chain of transmission, it is imperative to find all TB patients at the earliest and link them to the existing diagnostic and therapeutic services as soon as possible.