24 March 2010
Pune, India
The tuberculosis (TB) treatment centre of the Pimpri–Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) will start three new sputum collection centres for patients living in the municipal limits.
Speaking to TOI on Tuesday, Kishore Khilare, TB officer said, “Sputum collection centres were opened with the help of non– governmental organisation (NGO) at Moshi and Chikhli in 2009. We propose to start three new centres this year at Vikasnagar–Kiwale, Dighi–Charholi and Tathawade with the NGOs.”
Khilare said, “A total of 1,922 sputum samples were checked in 2009 of which 657 patients were found to be positive. We were able to cure 73 per cent of the patients and surpassed the target of curing 70 per cent patients during 2009. In 2008, we were able to cure 86 per cent of the new TB patients surpassing the target of 85 per cent.”
He said that the revised national TB control programme is being implemented in the PCMC limits from 1998. A total of 18,774 patients were treated in the period from October 1998 to 2009.
Khilare said there were just nine private medical practitioners involved in the TB control programme in 1999 and only 2.3 per cent patients took treatment from them. “Now, 243 private medical practitioners are involved in the TB control programme and 52 per cent patients take treatment from them,” he added.
There are TB treatment units at Talera hospital in Chinchwad and another at Bhosari, 24 DOTS centres and 16 approved centres in the municipal limits where sputum testing is conducted for free.
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