TB starting to rear its ugly head in KL, Putrajaya

KUALA LUMPUR: Not many will remember the city's Lady Templer Hospital. It served as a dedicated hospital to treat tuberculosis cases from 1954 until it was closed down in 1984.

It is now known as the Cheras Polyclinic. There is no longer any hospital specialising in treating TB cases because the infectious disease was no longer a threat as Malaysia progressed by leaps and bounds following independence in 1957.

But that now does not appear to be so as the number of TB cases in the city and Putrajaya is on the rise.

A total of 1,819 cases were recorded in the two federal territories last year as compared to 1,778 cases in 2014.

Putrajaya and Kuala Lumpur Health Department Infectious Diseases Branch head Dr Thaherah Nor Mohd Kassim said Kepong recorded the highest number of cases at 496 followed by Cheras (477); Lembah Pantai (425); Titiwangsa (387) and Putrajaya (34).

Dr Thaherah said 79 per cent of the cases (1,393 patients) were successfully treated but some dropped out (of treatment) half way.

"In general, TB patients must consistently take medication each day for at least six months, patients who do not complete their treatment risk infecting others," Dr Thaherah said in marking World TB Day at the Pudu Ulu People's Housing Scheme yesterday.

Some 300 residents of the scheme also underwent screening for TB at the event as part of the department's effort to combat spread of the disease.

A total of 24,220 TB cases were recorded in the country last year with 1,696 fatalities.

World TB Day is marked on March 24 each year in remembering the discovery of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis, the bacteria responsible for the disease, by Dr Robert Koch in 1882. - Bernama