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Emphasising on the need of spreading awareness regarding tuberculosis, an orientation programme was organised at Central Police Dog Training School (CPDTS), Maharajgunj, Kathmandu on 15th July, Wednesday. The orientation was organised by HERD following the request made by CPDTS officials. The officials showed interest on the issue as they train dogs and live in crowded camps where the risk of transmission is high. Two sessions were conducted during the event - Orientation about TB as a disease; and TB screening.

The first session focused on conveying information regarding the disease. The signs and symptoms of TB, its diagnosis, treatment, prevention and transmission among others were highlighted. Detailed information about the National Tuberculosis Programme of the government and the Gene-Xpert test was also provided.  It was an interactive session where numerous officials raised their queries. Total 75 officials had participated at the programme.

The event was organised in coordination with NTP. Two officials from HERD, Dr Manoj Pandey and Prabin Shrestha involved in TB REACH project facilitated the orientation sessions. In the second session, TB screening was conducted. Sputum of all the officials were collected which is currently being tested. TB related Information, education and communication (IEC) materials were also distributed at the event.

Dr. Manoj Pandey, facilitating a session about basic information on TB

Prabin Shrestha said, “We are confident that the perception of the participants regarding TB has changed after the orientation session”. Dr Pramod Raj Bhatta, Deputy Superintendent of Police acknowledged HERD for the support and said, “It is necessary to conduct orientation about TB as well as TB screening in every police unit so that the disease doesn’t remain an unknown topic/issue to any official”. Keshav Gautam, Police Inspector said, “The orientation was very effective and our knowledge regarding the disease has increased”.  

Mr. Prabin Shrestha, during the orientation session

Meanwhile, TB REACH is exploring new slum areas which might be at higher risk of TB. It is also preparing to conduct follow up at various slums. The team has further decided to focus on People Living with HIV (PLHIV) as they belong to a higher risk group. The team is coordinating with Teku Hospital as it has an antiretroval therapy (ART) centre and PLHIV visit the hospital. The hospital will be collecting sputum and the test will be conducted at HERD. It is important that PLHIV conduct TB screening in every three months as TB is a major opportunistic infection in HIV.

TB REACH team collecting sputum samples from police officials

The team is gearing up in distributing IEC materials to PLHIV and the collection will begin as soon as possible.

HERD would like to extend its heartfelt gratitude to Dr. Deuti Gurung, Superintendent of Police; Dr. Pramod Raj Bhatta, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Dr. Ram Chandra Satyal, Police Inspector; Mr. Keshav Gautam, Police Inspector and Mr. Buddha Bahadur KC, Police Inspector for their kind support and coordination to conduct this event.