Govt calls for timely transportation of TB samples amid lockdown

Kolkata: The Mamata Banerjee government has directed all districts to ensure "timely transportation" of "biological samples" of "presumptive tuberculosis (TB) patients" without any delay to laboratories during the COVID-19 lockdown.

The measure has been taken considering that the communicable disease is "one of the top 10 causes of death" in the country and the situation should not worsen in this regard when vehicular movement in both public and private sector has reduced to the bare minimum during the lockdown.

Directions have been given in this regard to concerned health officers including Chief Medical Officers Health (CMOH) in all districts and Chief Medical Health Officer of Kolkata Municipal Corporation.

The need of carrying out "ramified activities" of the TB elimination programme, especially proper transportation of biological samples to laboratories, has been stated in the directive.

It has also been stated that "as tuberculosis is a communicable disease and one of the

top 10 causes of death and a leading cause of death from

a single infectious agent, utmost effort should be made to avail any transport mechanism for sending the samples to desired destination in time so that testing can be done at the earliest and diagnosed patients are put on treatment immediately".

Considering that at present there is no surety of getting vehicles as and when required, directions have been given to concerned authorities that the districts should explore the possibility of "using public vehicles for COVID-19 related issues, medical mobile units for national health mission (NHM), vehicles of drug delivery system, etc" for timely transportation of samples collected from presumptive TB patients.

It has been further stated that if the same are not available, "samples may be gathered and transported availing private vehicles against rent at sanctioned government rate" to laboratories.

This comes at a time when the state government is leaving no stones unturned to fight against COVID-19 and taking all measures to check the spread of the disease by imposing lockdown.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has repeatedly directed all concerned officers to ensure that other diseases should not turn up as a cause of concern when the state government is fighting with full force against COVID-19.