Conferences

NATCON – 2012

The 67th National Conference on Tuberculosis and Chest Diseases (NATCON 2012)
will be hosted by the Bihar Tuberculosis Association and will be held at Patna.
The timings and other details will be announced in due course.

NATCON – 2011 – ACHIEVEMENTS

SIXTY SIXTH NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON TUBERUCLOSIS AND CHEST DISEASES
A BRIEF REVIEW

The 66th National Conference on Tuberculosis and Chest Diseases (NATCON 2011) was organized by the Uttrakhand State Tuberculosis Association under the auspices of the Tuberculosis Association of India (TAI) from 18th  to 20th November, 2011 at Dehradun.  The venue of the Conference was AMN Ghosh Auditorium, ONGC, Kolagarh Road, Dehradun. The conference organised under the overall advice and guidance of Dr. D. Behera, President of the Conference and Dr. Rohit Sarin, Vice Chairman of Tuberculosis Association of India was a great success. Over 300 delegates attended the Conference.

The conference was inaugurated by the Hon’ble Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Government of India, Shri Harish Rawat.  The Minister also released the souvenir brought out on the occasion. Dr. Rohit Sarin, Vice-Chairman, TAI, welcomed the delegates.

Dr. D.Behera, President of the conference, delivered the presidential address.  Dr. Behera described the journey of TB control and lung health through recent years.  He highlighted the recent developments of RNTCP implementation, TB-HIV Co-infection, TB and Tobacco association, TB and diabetes impact of air pollution on lung health and he continued his discussion through lung cancer and latest developments in its management.

Key note address of the Chairman, TAI, Dr. R.K. Srivastava, who could not attend the Conference because of his pre-occupation was read by Dr. G.R. Khatri (President, World Lung Foundation of South East Asia), highlighted the problem of tobacco usage in Uttrakhand state and the project on smoke free being conducted in the state.  He congratulated the Tuberculosis Association of India (TAI) on organizing this biggest event and highlighted its role, as an NGO, in supplementing and complementing the efforts of the government.

Dr. S.P. Agarwal, President of Tuberculosis Association of India, in his key-note address focused on challenges of tuberculosis in urban settings.  He said “the burden of suffering and economic loss caused by TB is an affront to our conscience.  TB is a curable and preventable disease.  TB continues to be a public health problem in the world despite the availability of highly effective treatment regimens.  HIV and TB form a lethal combination, each speeding the other’s progress.  TB-HIV co-infection and drug resistant tuberculosis aggravate the TB situation globally.  TB is a leading cause of death in HIV infected persons and HIV infection is the most potent risk factor for developing active TB disease from a latent TB infection.”

Dr. Rohit Sarin read out the citations for various awards of TAI which were presented to the recipients by the Union Minister.  The inaugural function ended with a vote of thanks by Smt. Poonam Kimothi, Honorary Secretary, Uttrakhand TB Association.

The Scientific Programme Committee of the Conference had chalked out a very useful programme. On the morning of 18th November, a CME programme was held for the post graduate students and young delegates.  Eminent speakers gave lectures on different aspects of Tuberculosis.

During the main conference, besides three prestigious orations, one guest lecture, seven symposia and one RNTCP plenary session, there were 60  oral paper presentations and   60 poster presentations. Dr. P.K. Sen TAI Gold Medal Oration was delivered by Dr.D. Behera, Director, LRS Institute of TB and Respiratory Diseases on the subject of “TB Control to total lung health care”.  Lupin-TAI Oration was delivered by Drs. S.N. Rai and Tasleen Syed  on the subject of “PPM in DOTS”. Dr. S.N. Tripathy Memorial Oration was delivered by Dr. Rakesh Dayal on the subject of “Programmatic Management of Drug Resistant TB – Experience in Tribal and Geopolitical settings of Jharkhand”. The OA Sarma guest lecture was delivered by Dr. Vijay Chhajlani on the subject of ‘RNTCP – Madhya Pradesh: Strategy, Status, Initiatives and Vision”.

RNTCP session was coordinated by Dr. Ashok Kumar, Programme Manager of RNTCP in India and DDG (TB).  He introduced the latest developments of programme and also explained the future vision for the programme.  Six speakers during the session deliberated on ‘Priorities of RNTCP focusing on DOTS’, ‘Prevention and Management of MDR TB’, ‘TB and HIV Control Programme’, ‘Trained Manpower Development challenges under RNTCP’, ‘Monitoring and Supervision Challenges’ and ‘ACSM and PPM Challenges’. The session generated lot of fruitful discussion among speakers and delegates.  Dr. Ashok Kumar assured the audience about their concerns for the programme and implementation of their suggestions.

Session sponsored by the Union highlighted the partnerships in the programme in the form of two lectures, namely; ‘Reaching the Unreached – Role of ACSM’ and ‘Experiences from project Axshya’. Session conducted by FIND on “Partnerships in TB Diagnostics” included deliberation on recent advances in TB Diagnostics, Medical Colleges’ involvement in LED Project, Lab Upgradation for recent diagnostics and Molecular Diagnostics.

The meeting of the Standing Technical Committee was held on 19th November, 2011 in which next venue of the conference was discussed in addition to other discussions.    The meeting of the State Secretaries was held on 20th November, 2011.

A colourful exhibition was the highlight of the conference.  Different organisations, including TAI and IUATLD, had put up informative stalls giving useful information on TB and chest diseases through charts and working models. A number of informative literature, brochures and books were distributed among visitors.

NATCON 2011 held in Dehradun was an excellent package of academic and social feast.  The hospitality offered by the Organizing Committee was superb and the delicious food picked from the various areas of Uttrakhand were the highlights of the various meals wherein different menu was served on different days.

In the Business and Concluding Session, Dr. V.K.Arora, Honorary Technical Adviser, gave a brief resume of the Conference activities from the start till the conclusion of the Conference wherein it was highlighted that all the sessions were well attended and the younger workers in large number were participating.

Under Rule 3 (xiii) of the Rules and Regulations of TAI, Drs. K.K. Chopra, Jai Kishan, Prem Kumar and L.S. Chauhan were elected as representatives of the National Conference to serve on the Central Committee.

Dr. Rohit Sarin proposed a vote of thanks on behalf of the delegates and Dr. Rajesh Naithani, Organising Secretary, on behalf of the hosts, the Uttarakhand TB Association.

AWARDS GIVEN DURING NATCON – 2011

The Tuberculosis Association of India has instituted awards that are presented to eminent TB workers who have contributed best for the cause.

Photographs