Authorities are concerned about the prevalence of Tuberculosis (TB) with many deaths attributed to the fact that patients are defaulting on their treatment which results in the more deadly drug-resistance TB.
To mark TB month (March 1- 31), the government embarked on an aggressive awareness campaign, focusing on getting patients to adhere to treatment.
Newsnote spoke to a TB survivor, David Makhana (pictured), who has embarked on a campaign to encourage those infected by the illness to take their treatment timeously.
The 41-year-old Makhana said when he started his treatment he had to take tons of pills three times a day and he detailed a timeline of his infection and the stages he went through with different types of TB.
“When I first contracted TB, I was 29-years old and had Pulmonary Tuberculosis twice, then at the age of 37 I had Tuberculosis Meningitis, of which I had to take 24 pills a day and had to be on treatment for 18 months.
“Basically I ended up opening an organisation to advocate for TB , HIV and Silicosis. My message to those surviving from TB is that they should take their medication regularly, take care of themselves, drink lots of water, and live a healthy lifestyle,” said Makhana.
Makhana cautioned that no matter how dreadful TB treatment is, it’s life saving. Although anyone can be infected by TB, the illness is common among people living with HIV and requires no less than six months of treatment. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) nearly 4 500 people die and 30 000 get infected with TB daily.
