28 Mar 2022

Chobe District has 16 active Tuberculoses (TB) cases.

Ms Naomi Kashweeka, who is the TB coordinator in the district, said although the numbers seemed low, they were still worrisome as TB was a public health concern because it could infect a lot of people without them knowing and that it was easily transmitted.

Speaking at the World TB Day recently, Ms Kashweeka said the figures indicated that Kazungula had the highest number of cases at five followed by Plateau with four cases while Pandamatenga and Kavimba had two cases each.

She said in Kasane, Satau and Kachikau there was one case in each village and that there were no cases in Parakarungu, Mabele and Lesoma.

 She noted that some of the TB patients were also HIV positive.

She explained that when one tested positive for TB he was automatically tested for HIV and vice versa as the two infections had an opportunistic relationship.

Ms Kashweeka also noted that men were the most affected by TB, attributing it to their lack of prompt health seeking behaviour and drinking habits.

She said only two of the 16 cases were identified as extra pulmonary TB while the rest were pulmonary TB.

She also said the district did not have any cases of Multi Drug Resistan TB.

Ms Kashweeka noted that TB could affect anybody, but said it was associated with living conditions such as overcrowded homes and that those having malnutritional challenges were also susceptible to TB.

She explained that TB symptoms included a prolonged cough that lasted more than two weeks, night sweats even when it was cold, loss of weight and appetite, fever and feeling cold in the morning.

Ms Kashweeka also said although no research had been done on how the use of masks had reduced upper respiratory tract infections such as TB and flue, there was a decrease in the number of patients complaining of those.

Meanwhile, the World TB Day was commemorated under the theme; Invest to End TB, Save lives.

In her message on the World Health Organisation (WHO) website, the regional director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti said the theme emphasised the urgent need to invest the necessary resources to ramp up the fight against TB.

Dr Moeti noted that in Africa governments contributed only 22 per cent of the resources required to deliver adequate TB services.

She added that 44 per cent was unfunded and that such a state  impeded efforts to reduce the TB burden.

“Increased funding from domestic sources and international donors is urgently needed if we are to counteract a reversal of the significant gains made against TB in the past decades.

At the current rate of progress, the UN Sustainable Development Goals target of ending TB by 2030 will not be achievable,” stated Dr Moeti. ENDS