TB CONTROL IN NR RECORDS SUCCESS (BACK PAGE, JUNE 21, 2011)

THE control of Tuberculosis in the Northern Region is recording some modest gains.
According to the Regional Co-ordinator of the TB Control Programme, Mr Abu Accrachie, outcomes resulting from the management of TB cases in the region has been very positive.
He said this was reflected by the treatment success rate recorded each year.
He mentioned that in 2006, the success rate was 77.8 per cent and in 2007 and 2008, the rate increased to 83 and 87 per cent, respectively.
“In 2009, we recorded a success rate of 85.2 per cent and although it was a decline from that of 2008, it was still a positive outcome,” he noted.
Mr Accrachie said the control programme had three main objectives, which are: to reduce morbidity and mortality due to TB, to control TB transmission such that it doesn’t become a public health concern and to prevent the development of TB drug resistance.
He said the programme had therefore adopted certain measures aimed towards meeting these objectives.
“We are sending the treatment to the doorsteps of patients through their relatives, caretakers and other supporters,” he noted.
Mr Accrachie further revealed that the control programme will commence Contact Tracing of all TB patients, which involve finding out the various persons who have contact with the patient, so that they could also be tested.
He also mentioned that the programme would engage many more people, be they youth groups, churches or schools, to sensitize them to ways of preventing TB infection or helping in its management.
He again noted that whilst undertaking those measures, the health providers would continue to adhere to a standardised treatment regiment for all patients based on a categorisation procedure.
“We have also adopted a standardised diagnostic tool for TB patients, a standardised reporting system and an uninterrupted drug supply system,” he further mentioned.
The TB control co-ordinator however stated that the challenge with the control programme in the Northern Region was how to make case detection more effective.
In his estimation, the number of cases recorded each year could not be the realistic picture on the ground, since the figures were too low.
“The region was expected to record about 4000 cases each year, but that is not the case for us,” he stated.
He said in 2008, 677 cases were detected, whiles in 2009 and 2010, 549 and 541 cases were detected, respectively, thereby indicating a decline in case detection.
Mr Accrachie identified the low awareness about TB and its symptoms as one of the reasons for the low case detection.
He also mentioned that although nurses and other health workers who attend to patients had been told that any patient who coughs for up to two weeks or more should be tested for TB, not all of the personnel adhered to this and therefore some of those living with the condition remain undiagnosed.
“We need more regular and committed staff, because many of those who have been trained did not stay longer to apply the skills,” he added.