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TB eradication target relaxed due to Covid-19

Tamil Nadu has relaxed its challenging target of eliminating Tuberculosis by 2023 due to delays in diagnosis due to Covid-19 pandemic. Health secretary Dr J Radhakrishnan on Friday said the state has set a death rate ratio target for TB.

Updated On Mar 28, 2022 at 11:40 AM IST

Chennai: Tamil Nadu has relaxed its challenging target of eliminating Tuberculosis by 2023 due to delays in diagnosis due to Covid-19 pandemic.

Health secretary Dr J Radhakrishnan on Friday said the state has set a death rate ratio target for TB. “It’s tough not because of the facility but because of diagnosis. We are not identifying enough cases,” he said.

Addressing an event titled ‘Invest to end TB. Save lives’, Radhakrishnan said in areas like Nilgiris, the notification for TB has been poor.

“The Covid has taught us a lesson to test, diagnose and treat, and it applies for all the diseases. During Covid-19 testing too, we identified multiple TB cases,” he said.