As part of India’s National TB Elimination Programme (NTEP) to accelerate the fight against tuberculosis, the NTEP Unit at Amrita Hospital, Kochi has launched a 100-day TB Elimination Campaign.
The initiative, conducted in association with the National Youth Movement Against Tuberculosis (NYMAT) and the District TB Centre, was inaugurated by Ernakulam District TB Officer, Dr Sunitha VM, and the hospital’s Additional Medical Superintendent, Dr Beena KV.
The 100-day campaign will feature various activities, including a meet-up for tuberculosis survivors, screening initiatives in palliative care centres and other high-risk groups, as well as awareness classes and competitions conducted.
The event also marked the inaugural of the institutional expansion of the existing Diabetes-TB Bidirectional screening with the Respiratory Medicine and Endocrinology Department. This technical support of the International Union Against TB and Lung Disease is aimed at the early detection of tuberculosis in diabetes patients. The initiative was jointly inaugurated by Dr Beena KV alongside Dr M Gopalakrishna Pillai, Head of the General Medicine Department.
Prominent healthcare professionals who attended included Dr Akhilesh K, Nodal Officer, NTEP and Professor of Respiratory Medicine; Dr. Asmita Mehta, Clinical Professor and Head of Respiratory Medicine; Dr V Anil Kumar, Head of the Microbiology Department; Dr. Princy Louis Palatty, Head and Professor of Pharmacology; Dr. George Mathews John, Professor of General Surgery; and various representatives from other departments.
