Rising TB cases worry Namutumba District authorities

In Summary

Rising. The authorities say TB cases had risen from about 60 cases in 2013 to about 120 last year

Namutumba District health authorities have raised concern over the increasing cases of Tuberculosis (TB) in the district in the last four years.

Speaking at a function to mark World TB Day at Nsinze Sub-county headquarters last week, the district health inspector, Mr Francis Cranmer Kyakulaga, said TB cases had risen from about 60 cases in 2013 to about 120 last year.

Authorities worried
“I would be telling lies if I said the situation isn’t worrying. Cases have been on the increase since about 2013 when the district registered about 60 cases. As of today, we have registered more than 100 cases despite the fact that treatment is available,” he said.
The function was held under the theme “Find TB, Treat TB, working together to eliminate the disease”
Mr Kyakulaga blamed the situation on reluctance by TB patients to access treatment, adding that even where others do seek such treatment, they often do not complete the course of treatment, leading to cases of drug resistance.

The district TB focal person, Mr Abdallah Kiwanuka, said the situation has not been helped by the fact that the district’s health centres do not have room for the creation of isolation centres for TB cases.

The numbers
An estimated 60,000 people live with TB in Uganda, which according to Dr Frank Mugabe, the programme manager of the National TB and Leprosy Programme (NTLP), puts it among the 22 countries with the highest number of TB cases in the world. Also, about 50 per cent of the TB patients are co infected with HIV/Aids.