10 misconceptions about drug-resistant TB
1. Drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) only exists in specific countries or regions, mostly in the former Soviet Union Most evidence on DR-TB has been limited to developed countries. In 1992, the…
Veteran TB doctor still fighting
Dr Iqbal Master could be classified a TB veteran and for good reason. For 20 years and still going strong, Dr Master has been working at the coalface of the…
Veteran TB doctor still fighting
Dr Iqbal Master could be classified a TB veteran and for good reason. For 20 years and still going strong, Dr Master has been working at the coalface of the…
Eastern Cape voices
NOLAST WINISI I could not walk during my illness because of the injection. I spent more than R100 on my return trip to the clinic, and it was unsustainable. My…
Children at increased risk
Research, willpower and good administration could help halt the march of a disease that is striking down too many children: multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB). [caption id="attachment_2704" align="alignnone" width="519"] Thandi Chitha, a…
Treating TB as a crime
Six years ago, almost to the day, Mark Heywood (then head of the AIDS Law Project) warned that, while squabbling over human rights and other issues around HIV, the country…
Treatment decentralisation needs an injection
Decentralised drug-resistant TB (DR-TB) treatment to clinics is being rolled out across the country. Or is it? NSP Review visited a number of Eastern Cape clinics and interviewed patients and…
Fighting TB: Rural challenges, hopes and dreams
Every time I diagnose a child with TB, I wonder how far we are from winning this fight against the disease. Considering that the effort put into preventing mother-to-child transmission…
Tackling infection control
[caption id="attachment_2694" align="alignnone" width="780"] School children join in World TB Day activities in 2014 reminding society that anybody can get TB and everybody needs support. (Photo by Dalene von Delft)[/caption]…
Dying for better treatment
There was recently a small celebration in one of the primary care clinics in Khayelitsha. One more person was officially declared cured after more than two years of treatment for…
Sticking to treatment
Adherence to DR-TB therapy is essential for treatment to be successful. Poor adherence may result in unsuccessful treatment outcomes, and the infection of other household and community members. In addition,…
The numbers are uncertain
South Africa is one of the few high burden countries where DR-TB case detection is reported by the World Health Organization (WHO) to be more than 100%. Based on a…