Published on LMS

Active Case Finding (ACF) is a provider-initiated activity with the primary objective of detecting TB cases early by active case finding in targeted groups and to initiate treatment promptly.

Medical colleges in the country are integrated with the National TB Elimination Programme (NTEP) to widen access and improve the quality of TB services. Medical colleges provide specialized services for seriously ill TB patients.

The integration of medical colleges in the program is in a structured task force mechanism at different levels:

Integrated patient-centred care and prevention are one of the pillars of the End TB strategy. This requires TB services to be made affordable and accessible by integrating them with the general health system. 

In 2005, the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) was established and was merged with the National Urban Health Mission (NUHM) in 2013, to form the National Health Mission (NHM).The National TB Elimination Programme (NTEP) is a flagship programme under the NHM and fund allocation to NTEP occurs through the NHM.

• The public health system in India through the National Health Mission (NHM) visualises the attainment of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) for all its citizens, which provides access to equitable, affordable and quality health care services, which is also accountable and responsive to the needs of the people.

All childhood TB patients’ sputum and other relevant samples (e.g. gastric aspirate, induced sputum, bronchoscopic lavage, lymph node aspiration, CSF, tissue biopsies etc.) should be subjected to genotypic or the phenotypic Drug Susceptibility Tests (DSTs). Based on the bacteriological confirmation, the child should be treated for DS/DR TB as required.

But in cases where the child’s DST is unknown, the source patient’s DST should be considered.

Drug-resistant TB (DR-TB) diagnosis is predominantly based on laboratory diagnosis. Presumptive-TB/ DR-TB is identified by the health facility doctor during passive screening or by health staff/ community volunteers during Active Case Finding (ACF). 

The vision of National TB Elimination Programme (NTEP) is to provide early diagnosis to all persons with any form of DR-TB through Universal Drug Susceptibility Testing (UDST).

N95 respirators are Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) used as a biosafety measure in clinical and laboratory settings.

N95 Respirators

• N95 filtering facepiece respirators are air-purifying respirators.
• Certified to have a filter efficiency level of 95% or greater against particulate aerosols free of oil and 0.3 microns in size.
• N95 (United States Standard NIOSH N95) or program-specific guidelines should be followed in the selection of these respirators.

Sequence of Donning of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): (How to put on PPE)

1. Footwear
2. Gown
3. N-95 respirator
4. Goggles and face shield
5. Gloves

Donning must be done before entering the patient/ laboratory area.

Sequence of Doffing of PPE: (How to safely remove PPE)

During hybridization, single-stranded amplicons bind to probes and highly specific binding is ensured to produce even staining in the presence of stringent buffer and temperature conditions. However, high/ dark backgrounds in strips may be due to the following reasons:

• CON-C and/or SUB-C used too concentrated​
• Washing steps not performed with necessary care
• Wash solutions were too cold​

Solution: Repeat reverse hybridization step.​

During hybridization, single-stranded amplicons bind to probes and highly specific binding is ensured to produce even staining in the presence of stringent buffer and temperature conditions. However, uneven staining can occur due to the following reasons: