Public-private models effective in TB fight

At a conference held in HCM City on March 19, Dinh Minh Duong, doctor from Pham Ngoc Thach Pulmonary Tuberculosis Hospital, unveiled that in 2012 PPM models helped detect more than 12,600 TB cases confirmed by positive smears of sputum, accounting for 18.5 percent of the total TB cases in the city.

The models also helped treat more than 2,200 TB patients and detect 19 percent of sources of infection, Duong said.

Launched in 2009, the models include referring people with presumptive TB to the national tuberculosis programmer (NTP) network for testing, diagnosis and treatment.

The strong partnership of private and public hospitals, clinics and pharmacies resulted in early detection of people with presumptive TB. They were referred to national tuberculosis facilities for diagnosis and treatment, he said. 

The PPM model in which people with presumptive TB are referred to the NTP network will be scaled up to all districts in the city between 2013 and 2016, said Phan Thanh Liem, doctor from Pham Ngoc Thach Pulmonary Tuberculosis Hospital.

Eleven private and public hospitals and clinics will also be assisted to conduct testing and treatment for TB patients during the period, Liem said.

According to Nguyen Tan Binh, Director of the municipal Department of Health, Vietnam ranks 12 out of 22 countries with a heavy burden of TB and ranks 14 out of 27 countries with a high burden of multi drug-resistant TB.

More than 100,000 TB patients receive treatment nationwide every year, of whom patients in HCM City account for 13-15 percent, Binh said.