Let us join govt in fighting TB

| Thursday March 25, 2010 00:00

World Tuberculosis Day, celebrated annually on March 24, aims to raise awareness about the ongoing fight against this deadly disease. This year's theme, 'TB Elimination: Together We Can,' puts the spotlight on the need for collaboration to ensure the global eradication of the disease.

A highly infectious, airborne disease, TB primarily affects the lungs. In 1993, TB was listed as one of the main causes of death worldwide, prompting the World Health Organisation to declare a global health emergency. Most people have what is called latent TB. In other words they are carriers of the TB bacteria, which once their bodies' immune system is compromised becomes active. Once they are sick with TB, these people can easily transmit it.

Especially at risk are people who occupy the same enclosed space such as offices, bedrooms and living rooms with a person with active TB. Unless the person is treated they will die from the disease.  We in Botswana, a country with a high HIV infection rate are amongst countries most at risk of TB. This is because people with HIV have compromised immune systems - making TB much easier to catch and harder to detect. Having realised the potential danger from TB that people with HIV have, the government provides free TB preventive therapy to people who are diagnosed with HIV. It is therefore, important that people test and know their HIV status in order to enroll in the TB treatment if they are positive. In this way they will not endanger the lives of their loved ones, colleagues and friends.

It is important to note that the full course of TB treatment must be taken. Failure to do so may result in the TB antigen mutating into a more difficult-to-treat strain known as Multi-Drug resistant TB. Drugs for this strain are more expensive and may have adverse side-effects. It is a fact that not all who take TB treatment follow instructions to the latter. For example remote area dwellers may only be visited once in a while by a mobile clinic.

Clinics and health posts may and do close on weekends and nurses have to trust their patients to take the two tablets that they give them to 'take on Saturday and Sunday'. But that may not happen as the patient may simply forget or not see the need to do so. This is where the need for collaboration becomes acutely obvious.

Around the country there are organisations that have made it their job to assist by assigning their staff to ensure patients do take treatment. We should applaud such organisations and the men and women  - the Directly Observed Therapy (DOT). Letloa Health of the Kuru Family is an excellent example of this collaboration. Working in Ghanzi - the country's most affected District, these men and women face many challenges: from an unfriendly terrain to an assortment of languages that are not mutually intelligible. Yet they persist with one - to eliminate TB. Indeed, there are other NGOs and governments that have partnered with our people to help fight TB and we can only applaud them. So today as we reflect upon yesterday's events, let us purpose to not leave it all to government.

                                                                        Today's thought

                                           'The wise man does not hang his knowledge on a hook.'

                                                                      - Spanish Proverb