Private Practitioners Diagnosing, Treating, and Notifying Tuberculosis in South Kerala, India—Facilitators and Barriers: A Mixed-method Study

Primary ObjectiveTo estimate the proportion of private practitioners who diagnose, treat, and notify TB cases in private healthcare facilities of South Kerala. intrOductiOnTuberculosis (TB) is a leading airborne infectious disease, causing morbidity and mortality worldwide. 1Despite being ranked one in the burden of TB cases, the country also contributes to 25% of the "missing" cases globally, which are either underdiagnosed or unreported. 2 In India, the private healthcare sector provides medical services to two-thirds of the population including TB cases. 3However, the notification of TB cases to the government authorities from private sector is fairly low despite the introduction of mandatory TB notification in 2012. 4One of the major challenges in TB elimination is the burden of these missing cases in millions, especially considering the fact that an undiagnosed or untreated person can infect as many as 15 other individuals.From the National Tuberculosis Control Program to current National Tuberculosis Elimination Program (NTEP), strategies in TB management underwent frequent revisions from time to time to accelerate efforts for TB elimination.The private practitioners play a key role as they provide treatment for large number of populations.Knowledge regarding the latest diagnostic modalities is imperative as they aid in early diagnosis, and treatment based on weight band is essential to prevent drug resistance, disease spread, and other complications.