KZN TB is 'worse than epidemic'
2007-04-25 07:57
Johannesburg - The KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) government says the incidence of tuberculosis (TB) in that province is now worse than an epidemic, SABC reported on Tuesday.
KZN Health MEC Peggy Nkonyeni said TB had reached a case load of more than 1 000 per 100 000 people in the province.
Any figure above 200 per 100 000 is regarded as an epidemic, she said.
Nkonyeni was delivering her budget in Pietermaritzburg.
She said the province had an advanced plan to deal with the epidemic.
On April 4, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said the extent of multi-and extreme-drug-resistant strains of TB (MDR-TB and XDR-TB) in South Africa was not known.
"We know there are quite a lot of MDR- and XDR-TB cases, although we don't know the extent," said WHO TB expert Dr Fabio Scano.
Scano is in SA as part of a two-year collaboration with the government to provide technical support and advice in the fight against the disease.
He said there were a number of TB interventions underway but the results were yet to be seen.
On April 4, the health department's said 237 of 350 XDR-TB patients identified in SA - 68% - have died. A total of 112 are on treatment and one patient has defaulted on treatment.
KZN has the country's largest share of cases, with 221 out of 247 patients - 89% - having died. The survivors are all on treatment.
On Tuesday, it was reported that three more XDR-TB patients died in the Western Cape this month and there were now 22 patients receiving treatment, the youngest an 11-month-old baby girl who is responding to treatment.
On April 12, the Eastern Cape reported its 14th death from XDR-TB.
- SAPA