By Chanel September
24 June 2006
Cases of the extreme drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) have quadrupled in the Western Cape in the past three months.
This comes as the City of Cape Town has drawn up emergency plans in the event of an XDR-TB outbreak.
Since World TB Day in March, 45 XDR-TB cases have been reported in the province of which eight people have lost their lives.
Currently 30 patients are admitted at the Brooklyn Chest Community Hospital, three people are in the communities waiting to be accommodated at the hospital and four prisoners are in the prison hospital section.
“We have been actively reviewing our entire multiple drug resistant cases and looking for those who have not been progressing well. We have also been checking and investigating them further”, says executive director of city health, Dr Ivan Toms.
“The city is working towards improving the initial treatment of TB as it is important to detect the virus early, get patients on proper treatment and cure patients the first time round”, says Toms.
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