The Union Home Ministry has written to all the States/UTs to launch a 100-day intensified campaign on tuberculosis (TB) elimination in prisons and correctional institutions.
The Ministry’s move is part of the Central government’s efforts to eliminate the disease from India and is seen as a significant measure amid various reports that prisoners in India are five times more at risk of developing TB than the general population.
In order to effectively control and curb the prevalence of the infectious disease, Union Health Minister JP Nadda had launched the Government’s ‘100 day TB elimination campaign’ nationwide from Haryana on December 7 last year.
The goal of the campaign, to be implemented in 347 districts across the country, is to find and treat ‘missing TB cases’, especially in high-risk groups, and reduce TB deaths significantly.
Among the highlights of the campaign is the deployment of mobile, ultra-portable, AI (artificial intelligence)-enabled X-ray units and molecular tests to bring advanced diagnostics closer to people, especially in remote areas.
“As you are aware, Tuberculosis (TB) is a significant public health concern in the prisons as the closed setting and crowded areas in the prisons have the potential/ risk of becoming a breeding ground for TB transmission, exacerbating the burden of the disease within incarcerated populations and posing a risk to public health upon prisoners’ release and also during their periodic interaction with their visitors,” said the letter written by the Home Ministry.
Inadequate screening and lack of awareness are seen as key challenges in controlling TB inside prisons, said the experts as they cited a recent report in Lancet Public Health journal which analysed data from 193 out of 195 countries between 2000 and 2019. Itnoted that incidence of TB in India was 1,076 cases per 100,000 (one lakh) persons in prisons.
It also said that prisoners in India are five times more at risk of developing tuberculosis (TB) than the general population.
