No such thing as TB2

There is no such thing as TB2, an official with the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare, Dr Charles Sandy, has said, putting an end to a myth that some HIV/AIDS patients believe.

Speaking at a media training workshop organized by the Southern African HIV and AIDS Information Dissemination Service, Dr Sandy told journalists the misconception had heightened stigma towards people living with TB and HIV/AIDS.

“There are two categories of TB. Category one is the ordinary disease we all know that can easily be treated, but we also have a second category the is the Multi-Disease Resistant TB, is a sister strain of TB. MDR is a result of people defaulting on their medication, which leads them to need different medication.”

Sandy explained that Category one TB was found in saliva, while category two was not found and was therefore more difficult to diagnose. He said MDR TB was difficult to treat in patients who were either HIV positive or had AIDS and urged Zimbabweans to take their medication religiously when diagnosed with TB.

“People should take their medication religiously if we are to eradicate MDR TB and it should also be noted that the medication for the MDR TB is more expensive than that for the ordinary strain of the same disease.

“In 2010 we had about 45 000 reported cases of TB and we are expecting around 2000 more cases to bring this year’s figure to 47 000 reported cases,” said Sandy.

Post published in: News

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