Muzaffarpur: The health department has sought a helping hand from private medical practitioners to identify tuberculosis (TB) patients and get rid of the disease by treating them.

The state at the behest of the central government has decided to give Rs 1,000 to the medical practitioners for treating a TB patient. Moreover the government will provide monetary assistance to ailing TB patients too.

District malaria officer A.K. Sinha said all medical practitioners are being contacted to seek a helping hand to spot TB patients and report it to the health department. "The central government is keen to eradicate TB menace by lending monetary support to medical practitioners as well as TB patients," said Sinha.

Doctors if they bring TB patients to their clinics will have to upload details of the patients, including their symptoms and line of treatment, on the health department portal. The government thereafter will provide monetary assistance to the TB patients by sending a special messenger directly to their place of abode. The health department will also give Rs 1,000 to the medical practitioner for treating the TB patient.