Tuberculosis – TB – The Silent Killer…

This graph indicates HIV Prevalence and TB Infection 1980-2006. Courtesy: SACEMA Weekly

The biggest problem with TB is that it can affect everyone around the person who has it.Treatment is available but those who default on treatment, create a higher risk of infecting others. Once the TB defaulter is tracked, traced and restarted on treatment, should they default again the TB virus they are hosting mutates and becomes drug resistant becoming what is called; Multi-Drug resistant. This virus, in this condition can still be dealt with but should the patient not complete the medication course again the virus mutates again, and becomes Extremely-Drug resistant called XDR! This patient then becomes highly infectious and is danger to themselves and those around them.

The TB  as well as HIV infection rate is on a sudden increase and it is therefore imperative you protect yourself and those around you.                                                                                           Should you suspect that you may have been in contact with someone who has TB, consult your Doctor or visit your local clinic immediately to get screened and a sputum sample tested               HIV free testing is free.

South Africa has the highest tuberculosis infection rate per population and accounts for 5% of the global TB burden. TB incidence has increased threefold between from 1996 to 2006, and by 2009 there were 406,000 cases. The incidence rate is estimated at 948 per 100,000. About 1.8% of new TB cases are Multiple-Drug Resistant (MDR) and about 6.7% of retreatment cases develop MDR. South Africa has the highest TB and HIV co-infection rate in the world at 73%.                   Tuberculosis is a leading cause of death for people living with HIV. HIV attacks one’s immune system and makes one vulnerable to opportunistic infections. When a person infected with HIV contracts TB, the latent TB infection progresses much quicker to an active TB disease. While both conditions of tuberculosis are treatable for people living with HIV, special attention and awareness from health care workers is needed to prevent further complications associated with HIV-TB co-infection.

For years the TB cure rates lingered around 40-55%, but increased awareness of the magnitude of the problem has mobilized the government’s response. In 2009 the cure rate increased to 70%. and by 2007 case detection rose to 78% which lead to the implementation of the; Directly Observed Therapy Short course (DOTS), an internationally recommended TB treatment strategy. This strategy achieved a success rate of 74%.                                                                                       The primary targets of South Africa’s Strategic Plan for Tuberculosis (2007-2011) are: 70% case detection rate, more than 85% treatment success rate and 85% cure rate.                                 Case detection and the continued follow-up on cases are important for financial reasons as well. For ordinary TB, the South African government spends R400 per person, however when the patient fails to adhere to the treatment routine and the virus develops into a MDR TB virus, the cost of treatment increases to R24, 000 per person.

To further and speed up progress, South Africa announced a three-pronged strategy to deal with TB in March 2011:

1.      Use of the new GeneXpert technology for better diagnosis of TB and multidrug resistant TB.

2.      Active case finding to trace those who came in contact with TB patients via household visits.

3.      Opening of nine specialty hospitals to treat MDR-TB patients.

In closing it is up to each one of us to get screened and know our status to protect ourselves and those around us. What none of us realise is that should one contract the TB virus from a person who is host to a MDR TB virus, treatment is almost fruitless as the virus becomes resistant to the different forms of drugs taken by the infected host. In other words one contracts a “super virus!”

The drug courses MUST be completed and it MUST be fully confirmed that one is cured of the virus ones the course is completed!

For more information about TB and HIV:  http://www.nicd.ac.za/  or contact Wide Horizon Care:     016 428 1410

Article submitted by Gail Heasley of Wide Horizon Care, Hospice Vaal: https://showme.co.za/vaal/showme-cares/health-care-givers/wide-horizon-care/#position