There seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel as Zimbabwe battles on to contain the deadly tuberculosis (TB) disease, argues KC Wmawire.
There seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel as Zimbabwe battles on to contain the deadly tuberculosis (TB) disease.
Dr Custodia Mandhlate, World Health Organization Zimbabwe representative says the country is still ranked 17 out of the world’s 22 high-burden TB countries.
By constantly remaining on the same ranking it shows that there is still much that is needed to be done to combat the disease.
Mandhlate notes that in Zimbabwe, TB incidence rates significantly increased during the last decade. There are reported to have risen from 97 per 100,000 people in 2000 to 411 per 100,000 people in 2004 and to 782 per 100,000 in 2007.
“The estimated TB prevalence has flattened but still remains high due to the dual epidemic [HIV/TB co-infection] standing at 8%,” Mandhlate said.
According to her, the increase is attributed to the high incidence of HIV and AIDS and it is estimated that 72% of all TB patients are co-infected with HIV. lt is also reported that 78% of all TB cases were treated successfully in 2007 but detection rates remain below 40%.
Mandhlate says in relation to the global indicator for the rate of successful TB treatment, Zimbabwe attained a record high of 78% in 2007.However, she adds that this is still low in comparison to the global benchmark target of 85% recommended by the WHO.
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