I am concerned that there will be a resurgence of preventable diseases such as tuberculosis, measles, rubella and polio due to the Covid 19 lock down. How can this scenario be managed?
It's disturbed in the management of other infectious diseases during Corona crisis. TB control program was fine in Bangladesh even in crisis through DOTS Not EPI had some problems at the initial stage of crisis.
Hello Muhammed, I have found DOTS to work very well in the treatment of TB and Leprosy.
Government of India has launched tuberculosis control program through DOTS. The program is not affected by COVID-19.
Other diseases such as polio, tetanus, diphtheria, measles, rubella are likely to make a comeback as Covid-19 has made it difficult to conduct campaigns and people are self-isolating as much as possible.
Until any new research-based information emerges, prevention of polio will still rely on the use of oral polio vaccine in children. It has been a very successful public health intervention.
Also the use of BCG (Bacille Calmette Guerin) vaccination administered to babies at birth (or as soon as feasible afterbirth) is still the practice for the prevention of tuberculosis (TB). In endemic nations, adults who are healthy but who are Mantoux test negative could also be given BCG vaccination. Both vaccines are to be used according to national guidelines.
Generally, avoidance of overcrowding, good nutrition, and social distancing (without stigmatization) from people who have open or active untreated TB, early treatment of cases using DOT , and contact tracing are all contributory to curbing the incidence of TB.
Care is required with oral polio vaccines as live virus is excreted in faeces. Unvaccinated people and those with compromised immunity can contract polio. This has happened in PNG. Vaccination rates need to be at least 95% to prevent vaccine induced polio outbreaks.
Issues such as nutrition, vaccination, domestic violence possibly will need to be addressed through DOTs. Health workers using DOTs will need personal protective equipment and be able to access hand hygiene, this component is rarely easy in many countries. Possibly, personal protective equipment could be made locally using local materials and provide employment.