'Breath of Life' project helps detect childhood tuberculosis in Nghe An

(Baonghean.vn) – The “Breath of Life” project has helped detect a doubling of child tuberculosis cases in the four districts of Dien Chau, Quynh Luu, Nam Dan and Yen Thanh.

On November 14, Nghe An Tuberculosis and Lung Disease Hospital in collaboration with PATH and Johnson & Johnson Vietnam organized a workshop to summarize the project "Breath of Life".

Attending the workshop were representatives of the National Tuberculosis Control Program, Nghe An Department of Health, Nghe An Tuberculosis and Lung Disease Hospital, PATH, Johnson & Johnson Vietnam, General Hospital, district health centers in the area and project implementing units in Nghe An.

Vietnam is currently a country with a high burden of tuberculosis, ranking 15th out of 30 countries with the highest number of tuberculosis patients globally. Nghe An is one of 10 provinces with a high burden of tuberculosis in the country. Each year, the whole province detects 2,700 - 2,900 new cases of tuberculosis, of which, it is estimated that the number of children with tuberculosis accounts for about 10% of the total number of tuberculosis patients.

Doctor Dau Minh Quang - Director of Nghe An Tuberculosis and Lung Disease Hospital affirmed: The "Breath of Life" project contributed to detecting tuberculosis in children in 4 districts of the project. Photo: Dinh Nguyet

The Breath of Life project aims to pilot a model to enhance detection, treatment and management of childhood tuberculosis, by reducing the number of children infected and dying from the disease in Vietnam.

The project was implemented by PATH – an international non-profit organization working on the health of women and children in collaboration with Johnson & Johnson Vietnam, the National Tuberculosis Control Program and Nghe An Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases Hospital in Nghe An starting from March 2016; in 4 districts of Dien Chau, Quynh Luu, Nam Dan and Yen Thanh.

Examination of pediatric patients at Nghe An Tuberculosis and Lung Disease Hospital. Photo: PV

The project implements capacity building activities for grassroots health workers in diagnosing and treating TB in children; mobilizing health facilities outside the TB network to participate in managing TB in children; establishing TB technical teams at district level and implementing a process for coordinating TB diagnosis in children; implementing a process for screening children exposed to sources of infection in the community.

Officials directly participating in the project exchanged and discussed lessons learned in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of pediatric tuberculosis. Photo: Dinh Nguyet

Thanks to this, the number of children detected with TB in the 4 project districts doubled (from 74 to 148 children); in the first 9 months of 2017, 89 new children with TB were detected; contributing to the increase in the number of child TB cases detected in the whole province.

After nearly 2 years, the number of children participating in INH preventive treatment in 4 project districts increased 5 times (from 49 children in 2015 to 344 children as of September 2017). The rate of children receiving INH preventive treatment compared to children not receiving preventive treatment in 4 districts increased by more than 20%.

Commendation for units implementing the "Breath of Life" Project in Nghe An effectively. Photo: Dinh Nguyet

At the workshop, Nghe An Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases Hospital, PATH, and Johnson & Johnson Vietnam reported the results and shared experiences of the “Breath of Life” project in Nghe An; at the same time, they proposed solutions to improve the effectiveness of diagnosis, treatment and prevention of tuberculosis in children.

It is known that the project "Breath of Life" will continue to expand in Nghe An in the coming time.

Thanh Chung - Dinh Nguyet