The treatment of tuberculosis (TB)‚ and its resistant forms‚ is complicated by large numbers of patients who come from outside Gauteng to access healthcare services in the province‚ the Gauteng Department of Health said on Wednesday.
The department reported an increase in the number of Multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) from the previous years (747 in 2012‚ 857 in 2013 and 1‚007 in 2014).
“The department believes that while all efforts‚ including community based initiatives through the ward based outreach teams‚ have been implemented‚ these are frustrated by the high number of people who cross provincial and national borders to access healthcare services in the province.”
“We know that busloads of people travel from nearby provinces and countries to visit our facilities. For diseases such as TB it makes the work of our hard working community care givers and healthcare professionals very difficult‚” said Qedani Mahlangu‚ Gauteng Health MEC.
The department also said that more than a million patients had been screened in 2014.
The department planned to expand the GeneXpert technology‚ which has a high sensitivity for all forms of TB and has improved effectiveness of MDR-TB treatment initiation.
RDM News Wire.
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