JHAPA, March 23: A total of 79 people have died of tuberculosis in the past six months in Koshi Province. The figure is higher compared to the fatalities in the corresponding period last year. 

According to the Health Directorate, Dhankuta Office focal person for tuberculosis, Tulasi Prasad Guragain, 79 people in 14 districts in the Province succumbed to tuberculosis  from mid- July (2023) to mid-January ( 2024).

There are 114 DOTS centers, 132 lab test facilities, 19 geneXpert machines, four drug-resistant TB centers and one residential center in the Province to deal with the cases of TB infections.

During the first half of the current fiscal year, 2,023 cases of TB were diagnosed in the Province. Among them, 37.9 percent underwent self-initiated testing procedures, 39.3 percent were diagnosed in private health facilities, and 18.4 percent sought diagnosis in government health facilities.

Jhapa, Morang and Sunsari record the highest number of TB infections with 579, 523 and 479 patients respectively. Similarly, Udayapur has 145 followed by 82 in Ilam, 53 in Okhaldhunga, 28 in Bhojpur, 23 each in Dhankuta and  Taplejung, 22 each in Sankhuwasabha and  Panchthar, 21 in Tehrathum,  and 16 each in Khotang and Solukhumbu.

Efforts to identify individuals diagnosed with the infection have been intensified through the mobilization of volunteers by the District Health Office and local health facilities. The higher population density in Jhapa, Morang, and Sunsari has contributed to the elevated infection rates in these areas, it is said.

It may be noted that the government has set a national target to eradicate TB by 2035.

 
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