Wednesday, 24 March, is World TB Day.
This day is commerated to raise public
awareness about the devastating health, social and economic consequences of
Tuberculosis, and to step up efforts to end the global TB epidemic.
The theme for this year is - ‘The Clock is
Ticking’ – which the World health organisation says conveys the sense that the
world is running out of time to act on the commitments to end TB made by global
leaders.
TB remains one of the world’s deadliest
infectious killers. Each day, nearly 4 000 people lose their lives to TB and
close to 28 000 people fall ill with this preventable and curable disease.
In 2019, City of Cape Town Health facilities
conducted close to 43 thousand TB tests. This figure dropped to just over 29
thousand last year
People with TB or a history of TB are likely to
be vulnerable to Covid-19 as they have similar symptoms, such as coughing and
shortness of breath. Both also causes fever and weakness in the body.
Mayco member for community services and health,
Zahid Badroodien has urged citizens to get tested for TB should they experience
symptoms.
‘’In an effort to minimise the risk of clients’
exposure to Covid-19, health services have made modifications to patient flow
and treatment practices and where possible, reduced the number of unnecessary
patient visits to health facilities.’’
‘’On a positive note, Covid-19 has highlighted
behavioural practices around infection prevention and control, and cough
etiquette, including the de-stigmatisation of mask wearing and social
distancing, which may contribute to reducing TB transmission.’’ Badroodien
added.
PICTURE: WHODone By: Mitchum George
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