Better Strategy Needed to Stop TB in Africa, says Doctor

Abigail Lucas
10/2/09
10:56 am

In South Africa the rates of tuberculosis infection are rapidly increasing, and South African doctors say that treatment alone may not be enough to slow down the spread of TB. A few hundred years ago during the industrial revolution when so many people were moving into the area the rates of TB drastically increased. According to Dr. Robin Wood, the director of the Desmond Tutu HIV Center the same thing is happening again today with so many people moving to the cities for work. “South Africa is a relatively small country- less than 50 million people. We’re the fifth largest number of TB cases in the world. So the burden is Massive” says Dr. Wood. Many of the townships around Cape Town are filled with people infected with both HIV and TB. There is twice as much TB in that one city than in the whole United States. One reason for the increasing growth of TB is the close quarters that the people live in. By the age of 15 about 55 percent of children are infected with TB. By the age of 25 close to 80 percent of them will be infected with TB. In order to slow down the spread of TB health officials believe that they need to involve the communities, trade unions and launch health education campaigns because this has been successful in the West for controlling TB.

I think that it is sad that so many of these people are affected by TB, and many of these are affected by both TB and HIV/Aids. However I do not understand why if HIV/AIDS and TB both have affected so many people in that area why has there been so many more advances and medicines and advances made in fighting that disease and not as many made to battle with tuberculosis.

http://www.voanews.com/english/Africa/2009-10-01-voa42.cfm