Ranga Reddy dist gets new TB diagnostic facility

Hyderabad: A free rapid diagnostic facility catering to Ranga Reddy district to detect drug-resistant TB was inaugurated at the Kondapur Area Hospital by Dr Veena Kumari, Commissioner, Telangana State Vaidhya Vidhana Parishad, on Friday.

The facility is designed to give results in two hours for presence of TB bacilli as well the drug-resistance status of the bacteria for Rifampicin, a key drug in TB treatment, thus drastically reducing the waiting time for initiating the treatment. The same diagnosis costs more than Rs.2,000 in private centres.

The facility will be utilised for presumptive TB cases among people living with HIV, presumptive paediatric TB cases and presumptive extra pulmonary TB cases. There are plans to extend the facility to all new presumptive TB cases and to private practitioners for testing samples of presumptive TB among PLHIV, paediatric subset and extra pulmonary categories.

The WHO-endorsed new technology is fully automated cartridge-based nucleic acid amplification test (CBNAAT) is portable, highly sensitive and can be used with minimum technical skills. All samples, except blood, urine, semen and stool, can be processed in CBNAAT.

Dr. Veena Kumari advised the hospital administration to take full advantage of the facility and maximise the services to patients. Dr Ch Surya Prakash, Joint Director (TB), said it was the seventh such facility in Telangana State. The machinery was made available by the Centre.

The machine cost about Rs 70 lakh. Dr Hanumanath Rao, District Coordinator, Hospital Services, Dr Aruna Kumari, District TB Control Officer, Dr Kalavathi, superintendent, and Dr C Chakrapani, State WHO consultant, were present.