State targets tuberculosis to treat HIV

“Thus,merely one third of the patients are identified and are undergoing treatment,” said Ramesh Menon,Project Director,State Mainstreaming Unit,UPSACS.

“Since TB is the most common infection that hits HIV patients,approaching TB patients is a good method to reach out to the HIV positives.”

To be held from June to September,the training programme will be conducted in the five ‘Category A’ districts of the state,where the prevalence of HIV is highest.

The training will be conducted in batches of forty. Three batches in each district will be trained per month.

“We are expecting to train 300 to 400 DOTS provider in each of the five districts — Banda,Itawa,Devariya,Mau and Moradabad — where the prevalence rate of HIV is very high. Altogether,2000 DOTS workers and technicians will be trained,” said Menon.

The proposal,he said,is part of the State Action Plan and once the initiative is approved by NACO,the training will begin.

The DOTS providers will be sensitized to pursue all patients of TB whom they have treated or are treating,for HIV testing,Menon said. Similarly,all lab technicians collecting sputum will be told to direct the patient to the HIV testing labs so both tests can be done simultaneously. “If any patient tests positive for HIV,they can be directed to their nearest Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) Center for further care,” he said.

For reaching out people at village level,the UPSACS is already running a first of its kind gramsabha training programme for HIV/AIDS in 100 most vulnerable villages of the five districts. Completed in Banda,Devariya and Muradabad by February end,the programmes will be conducted in Allahabad and Mau in April.