Abubaker Kirunda : , April 3 2011
At least 1,287 people have been found with tuberculosis in Jinja leaving the district authorities scared. The District Tuberculosis/Leprosy Control Supervisor, Mr Bernard Mugabi, on Thursday told journalists that this figure puts the case detection rate for TB in Jinja at 82 per cent which is higher than the 70 per cent national figure.
He said men are the most affected with 724 of them having the TB virus and 563 females, according to the latest survey conducted at Jinja Referral Hospital.
Mr Mugabi said lack of information about the availability of TB drugs, refusal to go for testing and smoking together with drinking alcohol have been the major root causes of the big number of TB patients in the district.
“TB drugs are available at health centre IIIs and IVs but people do not utilise them. Some people even completely refuse to go for testing even when they feel persistent cough which is always associated with TB,’’ Mr Mugabi said.
He said among the people discovered to be having TB, 1.5 per cent of them were found to be with incurable complications above the level of the hospital as a result of defaulting on taking drugs.
He said to cure such patients it would require them to get a strong TB drug dosage which goes for Shs10m.
http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/-/688334/1137468/-/c3am4tz/-/
At least 1,287 people have been found with tuberculosis in Jinja leaving the district authorities scared. The District Tuberculosis/Leprosy Control Supervisor, Mr Bernard Mugabi, on Thursday told journalists that this figure puts the case detection rate for TB in Jinja at 82 per cent which is higher than the 70 per cent national figure.
He said men are the most affected with 724 of them having the TB virus and 563 females, according to the latest survey conducted at Jinja Referral Hospital.
Mr Mugabi said lack of information about the availability of TB drugs, refusal to go for testing and smoking together with drinking alcohol have been the major root causes of the big number of TB patients in the district.
“TB drugs are available at health centre IIIs and IVs but people do not utilise them. Some people even completely refuse to go for testing even when they feel persistent cough which is always associated with TB,’’ Mr Mugabi said.
He said among the people discovered to be having TB, 1.5 per cent of them were found to be with incurable complications above the level of the hospital as a result of defaulting on taking drugs.
He said to cure such patients it would require them to get a strong TB drug dosage which goes for Shs10m.
http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/-/688334/1137468/-/c3am4tz/-/
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