Published on LMS

The private sector for tuberculosis (TB) care is everything outside the ambit of government-run public health initiatives. It consists of a wide range of providers from individual medical practitioners of many different systems of medicine, including:

Ayushman Bharat (AB) is an attempt to move from a selective approach to health care to deliver comprehensive range of services spanning from preventive, promotive, curative, rehabilitative and palliative care. AB-HWCs are envisaged to deliver expanded range services that go beyond maternal and child health care services to include care for non-communicable diseases, palliative and rehabilitative care, oral, eye and ear nose and throat care, mental health and first level care for emergencies and trauma, including free essential drugs and diagnostic services.

Vision

The Stop TB Strategy had been developed within the context of an overall vision for Tuberculosis (TB) control – that is, a world free of TB.

Goal

The goal of the Stop TB Strategy was to drastically reduce the global burden of TB by 2015 in line with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the Stop TB Partnership targets and to achieve major progress in the research and development needed for TB elimination.

Objectives

Figure: Spread of Infection on Contact with an Infectious TB Case

Guidelines for Laboratory Cleaning

PPE refers to physical barriers which are used alone or in combination to protect an individual's mucous membranes, airways, skin and clothing from contact with infectious agents, hazardous material, conditions or processes.

Good laboratory practices help to maintain biosafety in TB lab settings. However, it is good to keep in mind that:

• NOTHING can totally eliminate the safety risk associated with the TB laboratory.
• Good laboratory practices with an emphasis on biosafety, significantly reduce the risk of laboratory-acquired infection.
• Specialized equipment aids good laboratory practice but does NOT replace it.

Good Laboratory Practices

Disposal of biohazardous waste is essential to prevent contamination and possible infection of those handling the infected specimens.

At the end of each day, Cartridge-based Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (CBNAAT) laboratories generate contaminated material such as:

• Used sputum containers
• Used cartridges
• Transfer pipettes.

All used materials should be considered contaminated.

It is essential to follow biosafety protocols while handling specimens and cartridges. This will prevent anyone handling the specimens and cartridges from getting infected.

General Biosafety Requirements for CBNAAT

Cartridge-based Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (CBNAAT) is a low-risk procedure and requires the same level of precautions, like those used for direct Acid-fast Bacillus (AFB) sputum smear microscopy:

Monitoring of quality indicators is an essential component of quality assurance for the Cartridge-based Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (CBNAAT).