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Annexure 7
Setting- specific screening strategy
Urban Slums
Urban slum dwellers are at higher risk of developing TB due to overcrowding, poor
basic health services infrastructure and their health seeking behaviour. Health is not
a priority for them and risk of TB transmission is high in slums. Urban slum-dwellers
require focussed efforts and support from the tuberculosis programme.
Intensified case finding efforts in these areas can include:-
House to house, periodic symptom screening of all the mapped urban slums
to actively screen for presumptive TB cases.
Liaising with NUHM, NPSP and other departments delivering health care
services in urban slums for mapping and line listing of providers
Utilization of Urban slum schemes as in the revised NGO-PP partnership
guidelines.
Household and Close Contacts of TB
Household contact:-
A person who shared the same enclosed living space for one
or more nights or for frequent or extended periods during the day with the index
case.
Close contact:-
A person who is not in the household but shared an enclosed
space, such as a
social gathering
,
workplace
or facility, for extended periods in a
day with the index case.
-Since the transmission can happen from the index case to the contact any time
(before the diagnosis of TB or during the treatment) all contacts must be evaluated.
In case of Pulmonary Tuberculosis, it is recommended that contact screening is
conducted for household and close contacts
It is important to screen household and close contacts for TB as they are more prone
to get infected with TB. Some of them may be asymptomatic and others may ignore
these symptoms. Chest X-ray screening should be done for all the contacts.
Symptom screening should be done whenever X-ray facility is not available.
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