Nghe An: 100% of districts and communes maintain and develop anti-tuberculosis network

That was the information given at the Conference "Summary of tuberculosis prevention activities in 2017, responding to World Tuberculosis Day - March 24, 2018" organized by the Department of Health in coordination with Nghe An Tuberculosis and Lung Disease Hospital, on the afternoon of March 16.

According to statistics from the World Health Organization, Vietnam ranks 15th among 30 countries with the highest tuberculosis burden in the world. In recent years, the tuberculosis situation in Vietnam has tended to decrease.... This result is due to the efforts of all levels of sectors, localities and the community in the activities of detection, diagnosis and treatment.

Doctors visit and examine children at Nghe An Tuberculosis and Lung Disease Hospital. Photo: Document

Particularly in Nghe An, with the direction of the Central Hospital - National Tuberculosis Control Program, the Provincial People's Committee, the Department of Health, Nghe An Tuberculosis and Lung Disease Hospital actively implemented activities: Propaganda; detection, admission and treatment; Training, supervision and support for lower levels...

Thanks to that, tuberculosis prevention work is maintained in 100% of districts and communes in the area, and the tuberculosis prevention network continues to develop.

The province's tuberculosis control program has achieved positive results such as: Expanding the application of advanced techniques in diagnosing tuberculosis and drug-resistant tuberculosis; Being one of the first provinces to apply the process of managing and treating patients with pre-extremely resistant and extremely resistant tuberculosis with individualized regimens; The rate of detection and preventive treatment for children exposed to sources of infection is the highest in the country; Professional performance indicators are all highly appreciated by the National Tuberculosis Control Program.

Dr. Dau Huy Hoan - Deputy Director of the Department of Health, Deputy Head of the Steering Committee of the Tuberculosis Prevention Program of Nghe An province highly appreciated the results of the province's tuberculosis prevention program and acknowledged the contributions of units and staff directly involved in tuberculosis prevention and control. Photo: Dinh Nguyet

2017,in Nghe An,The sputum testing rate/population remained high at 1.4%, an increase of 0.28% compared to 2016. The number of tuberculosis patients of all types admitted for treatment was 2,604, a decrease of 8.7% compared to 2016. The number of tuberculosis patients with bacteriological evidence was 1,304, a decrease of 9.3% compared to 2016. The number of tuberculosis patients tested for HIV reached 96.5%. The number of pediatric tuberculosis patients decreased by 48% compared to 2016. The cure rate reached 90%, the rate of treatment abandonment without follow-up was less than 1%.

Besides the achieved results, the TB prevention work in Nghe An still has some difficulties such as: The budget for the National Target Program for TB prevention is limited, the number of drug-resistant TB patients and TB/HIV patients tends to increase; TB detection indexes at the grassroots level are still quite low; Counseling on screening and INH preventive treatment for children in some districts is not really effective; People still have the mentality of hiding their illness and buying medicine for treatment themselves...

Speaking at the ceremony, Dr. Dau Huy Hoan - Deputy Director of the Department of Health, Deputy Head of the Steering Committee of the Tuberculosis Prevention Program of Nghe An province highly appreciated the results of the province's tuberculosis prevention program and acknowledged the contributions of units and staff directly involved in tuberculosis prevention and control. Launching the response to World Tuberculosis Day on March 24, 2018, the representative of the Steering Committee of the Tuberculosis Prevention Program of Nghe An province called on all levels, sectors, unions, organizations and all people to actively participate in tuberculosis prevention activities.

Dr. Dau Minh Quang - Director of Nghe An Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases Hospital launched a program to support the fund "Tuberculosis patients defeat tuberculosis". Photo: Dinh Nguyet

Promoting the achieved results, Nghe An has set out key tasks in TB prevention and control: Continuing to strengthen the TB prevention network, improving operational efficiency at all levels; promoting disease detection and diagnosis, increasing the rate of sputum testing/population; effectively implementing patient recruitment, treatment management and HIV screening and testing consultation for TB patients; strengthening propaganda to raise awareness among all people about the disease, fighting stigma, and the benefits of early access to health screening services.

Targets set for 2018: Over 90% cure rate, treatment dropout rate under 0.85%; HIV testing consultation for TB patients over 90%...

Delegates attending the ceremony and medical staff donated funds to buy health insurance cards for poor patients. Photo: Dinh Nguyet

At the ceremony, the Steering Committee of the Tuberculosis Prevention Program of Nghe An province launched a program to support the fund “Tuberculosis patients defeat tuberculosis”. Accordingly, the delegates attending the ceremony and medical staff have and will support funds to buy health insurance cards for poor patients.

Awarding certificates of merit from the Department of Health to 3 individuals with outstanding achievements in tuberculosis prevention work in 2017. Photo: Dinh Nguyet

On this occasion, the Department of Health awarded certificates of merit to 3 individuals with outstanding achievements in tuberculosis prevention work in 2017; 3 groups and 4 individuals received certificates of merit from Nghe An Tuberculosis and Lung Disease Hospital.