Lucknow, Nov 3 (Reporter) The Uttar Pradesh government has achieved another milestone in the fight against Tuberculosis (TB), demonstrating significant success in identifying and treating TB patients across the state, official sources said here on Sunday. Sources said that this fiscal year, UP has once again outpaced other states in the effort to make the state TB-free. With a target of identifying 6.5 lakh TB patients, the state has already identified 86 percent of this target by the end of October, positioning itself as the leading state in TB notifications, they said. According to recent data, UP stands at the top with the highest number of notified cases, followed by Maharashtra with 1,85,765 patients and Bihar with 1,67,161. This continued momentum mirrors last year’s success, indicating that the state is on track to exceed its TB notification target once again. Experts believe that identifying and treating as many TB patients as possible is crucial to eliminating the disease from the country and UP. To support this effort, the Central TB Division set notification targets for each state at the start of the year. UP was assigned a goal of identifying 6.5 lakh TB patients, up from 5.5 lakh last year. As of October 31, the state has identified 5.59 lakh TB patients, with private doctors playing a significant role in reaching this number. Around 40 percent of these cases, over two lakh patients, were registered through private doctors. In cities like Agra, Mathura, Jhansi, Kanpur, Meerut, and Moradabad, private doctors have outperformed government doctors in TB notifications. In Lucknow, Gorakhpur, and Bareilly, both government and private sectors contributed equally to identifying TB cases. State TB Officer Dr Shailendra Bhatnagar said that following Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s mission, efforts to make UP TB-free by 2025 are in full swing. "Owing to these rigorous measures, the state continues to lead in TB notifications across the country," he said. Key initiatives from the Health Department, like the monthly Integrated Nikshay Diwas on the 15 days of every month, the Active Case Finding (ACF) Campaign, and the ongoing Dastak Abhiyan, have significantly boosted progress toward this goal. Last year, these efforts led the state to achieve 115 percent of its TB notification target. In 2023, the target was set at 5.5 lakh notifications, but UP successfully identified 6.33 lakh patients. While many private doctors across the state are actively collaborating with the government to combat TB, some districts are lagging in private notifications. For instance, Shravasti has reported only 38 private notifications this year. Other districts with low private notifications include Mahoba (215), Sant Ravidas Nagar (271), Hamirpur (277), Kannauj (293), Sonbhadra (297), Chitrakoot (312), Sultanpur (370), Amethi (392), and Kanpur Dehat (395)...////...