Karnataka Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar on Tuesday appealed Covid-19 recovered people and their family members to voluntarily get tested for Tuberculosis (TB).
Dr K Sudhakar was speaking at Vidhana Soudha after launching the special TB test drive which will be held across the state from August 16 to August 31.
“We have initiated a special drive to evaluate post-covid complications in people who have been recovered from Covid-19 infection. There are more than 28 lakh people in the state who have recovered from the infection. Since both Covid-19 and TB infect the lungs we have launched this special drive to ensure early detection of TB in people who have recovered from COVID-19,” said the State Health Minister.
“Since 2017, 75 lakh suspected cases have been identified and 88 per cent of them have been tested. About 3.9 per cent have been detected with TB. Due to the pandemic, the TB evaluation drives have been slightly hit. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has laid a vision to make India free from TB by 2025 and our state government is working towards this goal,” he further stated.
“People who have recovered from Covid-19 should voluntarily get themselves evaluated for TB. If it is detected at an early-stage treatment will become easier”, Sudhakar added.
