Help to eliminate TB
TODAY is World TB Day – and according to statistics from the World Health Organisation (WHO), TB is still a serious problem. WHO Figures for 2015 indicate that 10.4 million people across the globe contracted the disease. Of this number, 1.8 million died, including 400 000 who also had HIV.
About a third of the world’s population has a latent form of the disease, the WHO says. This means their bodies have been infected with the TB bacteria, but they have not yet become ill.
Those infected have a 10% risk throughout their lives of falling ill with TB. But people with compromised immune systems – such as those with HIV, malnutrition or diabetes – are much more at risk. Sadly, South Africa has one of the the highest occurrences of TB in the world, with WHO statistics indicating that about 1% of our 54 million population develops active TB every year.
It is nothing to be ashamed of. Anyone who breathes can contract the disease – but it can be cured. In fact, two of South Africa’s most towering figures – former president Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu – developed TB. But both went on to live healthy lives after being treated.
But there is a problem, according to Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, the chairperson of the South African National Aids Council: “Many people wait until they are very ill before they seek health care.”
“I call on all South Africans to be aware of the symptoms of TB and urgently seek care if you have the symptoms,” Ramaphosa says in a World TB Day message today.
Symptoms are not hard to identify. They include a fever, unexplained weight loss, drenching night sweats or a persistent cough.
Ramaphosa called on religious institutions such as churches, mosques, temples and synagogues to include messages about TB and its symptoms in their sermons. He also called on civil society organisations to recognise the important role they can play in eliminating the disease.
We would like to echo Ramaphosa’s call. If you feel you have the symptoms of TB – or if you know of someone who has – ensure that a doctor is consulted immediately.