Dr Yasmin reviews progress of TB, hepatitis control plan

LAHORE: Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid has directed to intensify Contact Tracing of Tuberculosis (TB), Hepatitis and HIV/AIDS patients and enhance registration of all confirmed patients.

Addressing a meeting of Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department (PSHD) here Thursday, the minister reviewed the progress of TB Control Programme and Hepatitis & Infection Control Programme with special focus on performance during the corona pandemic.

The PSHD secretary presented overall review of the programmes. The minister directed that contact tracing in close family members must be immediately scaled up to effectively control the spread of TB, HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis. She was told that provision of TB medicines remained uninterrupted during the pandemic. She said that private labs must be included in the registration process through IT-based solutions as the consolidated data would help to draw the realistic picture of incidence and prevalence.

She said the registration of childhood TB patients must be increased as this area required serious improvement. Medicine cards must be provided to patients receiving Hepatitis, HIV/AIDs and TB medicines, she said, adding that Lady Health Workers must be engaged in creating awareness about the disease. Stringent monitoring mechanism must be put in place to stop over-the-counter sale of TB medicines as drug resistant strains posed a serious challenge. All medical stores must be directed to make conspicuous display of a message that TB medicines would not be provided without proper prescription, she said.

The minister also reviewed the progress on issuance of cards to patients of HIV/AIDS, TB and Hepatitis. PSHD secretary said the bar coding and registration mechanism has been finalised for issuance for medicine cards. Only lab confirmed patients will be issued these cards. The process of registration of patients is being intensified, he added.