– Govt. commended for its efforts in fighting TB

Govt. commended for its efforts in fighting TB

Mongu, 25, 03, 2013, ZANIS……Mongu District Commissioner Morris Litula has commended Government  for its dedicated efforts in  the fight against tuberculosis.

And in Livingstone, the area District Health Management Team (DHMT) says it has achieved an 87 percent cure rate for Tuberculosis in the tourist capital.

Mr. Litula has implored ministry of health officials in the area to forge ahead with the struggle to control, and if possible, eliminate TB, even in instances where they experience temporary challenges and setbacks.

He said government will continue making available all the required human and other resources to support the health office in the District as it serves people in the District.

Mr. Litula stressed that it is saddening to note that the number of new positive TB cases has increased from 266 in 2011 to 287 in 2012.

He added that this calls for more concerted effort from all stakeholders to stop TB cases from increasing through strengthening diagnosis and early treatment seeking behaviour.

Mr. Litula said government believes that matters of health must be brought as close to the family as, demonstrated by the realignment of primary health care services to the Ministry of Community Development Mother and Child Health.

At the same function, Mongu District Community Medical Officer Dr. Francis Liywali said the department appreciates the efforts that government is doing in ensuring that tuberculosis drugs are always available on the shelves, even when the department runs out of other drugs.

And Livingstone District Health Management Team (DHMT) says it has achieved an 87 percent cure rate for Tuberculosis in the tourist capital.

 Area District Medical Officer Cliff Hara says this means out of every 100 sputum positive patients put on treatment, 87 are successfully cured.

Dr Hara said this in Livingstone today during commemoration of World TB Day at Maramba Clinic held under the theme: “Stopping TB in my lifetime”.

He however revealed that TB was the major cause of morbidity and mortality in Livingstone especially among those exposed to HIV.

Dr Hara said TB was among the top 10 killer diseases in Livingstone, with records indicating that a thousand people were on TB treatment last year.

“In Livingstone, TB is among the top 10 killer diseases and last year alone 1, 117 people were on TB treatment. As can be seen, this is not a small figure,” he said.

Dr Hara said health workers alone could not stop the spread of TB and as such concerted efforts were needed from all stakeholders including Livingstone residents.

He further said that government had a policy that all TB diagnosis and treatment was free and health workers were implementing it effectively.

Dr Hara also said despite being infectious, TB patients ceased to be infectious if they commenced treatment early and within a period of two weeks.

“I want to assure you that if one begins TB treatment early within two weeks, he or she will no longer be infectious,” he said.

Earlier, Livingstone District Commissioner Omar Musanje challenged health workers to stop the spread of TB by being alert to symptoms of the disease and providing prompt diagnosis and treatment; patients to stop the spread of the disease by becoming active participants in their own cure and for communities to help prevent the disease by sharing information.

Mr. Musanje commended TB treatment supporters for playing a crucial role in TB control and management as they handled most of the TB cases.

He said this year’s TB theme was a call to the global community to expand the Daily Observed Treatment (DOTS) Strategy.