To combat TB, Maharashtra will install 460 additional testing devices

Thanks to innovation and a slowdown in Covid-19, attempts to completely eliminate tuberculosis by 2025 are ramping up around the country.After installing 150 indigenous molecular-testing machines called TrueNat in Maharashtra, the health system is expected to install 460 more of these devices to increase the country’s TB detection network.According to Dr Ramji Adkekar, joint director of health services (TB), the aim is to have at least one advanced molecular testing unit at every TB testing unit in the state.These machines are able to detect TB in sputum samples with a moderate bacterial load, which often go undetected under a microscope.

Because they are able to detect TB more accurately, the World Health Organisation has suggested the use of molecular tests for TB detection rather than smear microscopy.The Made-in-India TrueNat machine is the country’s take on the American-made Cartridge-Based Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (CBNAAT), also referred to as GeneXpert.Since 2015, India has been importing and using these high-cost CBNAAT equipment to detect MDR-TB (drug-resistant tuberculosis).There are 147 imported CBNAAT machines in Maharashtra, the bulk of which are installed in government medical colleges and hospitals.

Indias Truenat reduces the cost of TB detection by 50% compared to imported CBNAAT, according to Dr Adkekar, who added that they have already approached the health ministry for the 460 additional TrueNat machines.We also intend to install some of these machines in villages’ primary health centers (PHCs).He said the machines are game-changers.According to public health experts, the TrueNat machines, which can operate in resource-limited environments with no reliance on infrastructure and skilled staff, have the ability to reach thousands of new TB patients who go undiagnosed each year.

Health authorities have been able to refocus their combat against TB, which kills an estimated 4,80,000 Indians each year, thanks to a decrease in the number of Covid cases.To find out what’s wrong with your house, state officials have already conducted door-to-door inspections.Over a million people are missing each year in the United States, due to undiagnosed and untreated patients. Times Now Bureau