Tuberculosis (TB) is considered a “silent killer”, with at least one person dying every hour from the disease in South Africa.
This was revealed by Health Minister, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi during the commemoration of World TB Day in Gamalakhe township, Port Shepstone in KwaZulu-Natal.
Motsoaledi believes the mass testing will help with early detection and prevent deaths.
“Any person who is known to have TB, we are going to ask that we screen their families, regardless of the signs and symptoms.
Secondly, any person who is HIV positive we’ll ask to be screened because the two diseases feed into each other.
Most people who are HIV positive are killed by TB.
Lastly, anybody who has been treated for TB, we’ll follow them twice in six months intervals to see that they don’t default,” said Motsoaledi.
The Minister also stressed the importance of taking treatment as he expressed concern that a huge number of TB patients tend to stop taking their medication.
Motsoaledi also appealed for more media coverage for TB, adding that there’s not enough coverage about its dangers and how deadly it can be.
Meanwhile, during his keynote address at the commemoration, Deputy President Paul Mashatile lamented Motsoaledi’s concerns by painting an even more bleak picture.
“TB continues to claim too many lives around the world.
In South Africa in 2023, around 270 000 people were diagnosed with TB, and tragically, 56 000 lives were lost, which translates to 153 people every day.
TB knows no boundaries, it affects people across all communities, but the burden falls most heavily on the poor and vulnerable.
In 2023, an estimated 58 000 people with TB were not diagnosed,” explained Mashatile.
Both Mashatile and Motsoaledi reflected on the ongoing M72 TB vaccine trials which are said to be “promising”.
According to the government, the trials conducted in the country have so far yielded promising results.
“We are indeed readying ourselves for local manufacturing and a rapid national roll-out once all procedural protocols have been met.
Our country was among the first to roll out bedaquiline as part of our national Drug-Resistant TB treatment Programme, replacing the older injectable drugs.
We have also pioneered the implementation of shorter, all-oral medicines, which significantly improved treatment outcomes and reduced side effects for patients.
This is a clear demonstration of our strong commitment as a government in the fight against TB,” remarked Mashatile.
Government guaranteed that efforts to create awareness and prevent TB related deaths will continue beyond the observation of this day.
