National Institutes

There are 6 national institutes under the National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (NTEP). These include:

1. National Institute of Research in Tuberculosis (NIRT), Chennai
2. National Tuberculosis Institute (NTI), Bengaluru
3. National Institute of TB & Respiratory Diseases (NITRD), New Delhi
4. Central JALMA Institute of Leprosy other Mycobacterial diseases (JALMA), Agra
5. Regional Medical Research Centre (RMRC), Bhubaneswar
6. Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre, (BMHRC) Bhopal

The different functions and roles of these institutes are:

     1. Acting as National Reference Laboratories (NRLs) for diagnostic services, Culture & Drug Susceptibility Testing (C&DST):

• External Quality Assurance (EQA) of sputum smear microscopy of states
• C&DST for detection of drug-resistant tuberculosis by solid (Lowenstein-Jensen) and liquid culture (MGIT 960)
• Molecular tests for drug-resistance detection (Line Probe Assay (LPA), Cartridge-based Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (CBNAAT), Next Generation Sequencing (NGS))

      2. Advanced medical care for TB patients:

• NITRD and BMHRC provide advanced, super speciality medical and surgical care for TB and its complications. 

      3. Monitoring & supervision of NTEP:

• The Central TB Division (CTD) is advised on all technical issues by the NRL Coordination Committee which includes members from all 6 national institutes and representatives from World Health Organisation (WHO) and CTD.
• Analyze data collected from the states, assess the performance and give feedback to CTD 

     4. Quality assurance of laboratory network under NTEP: 

• On-site Evaluation (OSE) of State TB Training and Demonstration Centres (STDCs)/ Intermediate Reference Labs (IRLs)
• Manufacture of panel testing slides and panel testing of STDC/IRL lab staff
• EQA of CBNAAT using dried tube panels
• Training of STDC supervisory staff and re-training, if required
• Prompt reporting of results of activities and feedback to the State TB Officer (STO)/ Deputy Director-General TB (DDG-TB)

      5. Training and capacity building of laboratory staff under NTEP

      6. Operational research:

• Drug trials
• Periodic drug resistance surveys

      7. Developing protocols and guidelines related to TB control

Resources

• Central TB Division, MoHFW, Government of India.
• India TB Report, Central TB Division, MoHFW, Government of India, 2021.

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