In an exclusive interview with The Zimbabwean, Charles Sandy, the deputy director in the Ministry of Health TB and AIDS Unit, attributed the crisis to lack of adherence to treatment by people leaving in droves for neighbouring countries. “The biggest challenge of TB treatment is in Matabeleland North and South where people frequently migrate to South Africa and Botswana in search of work,” he said. “TB treatment takes six months to complete, but when they go out of the country they do not get treatment, resulting in Multi-Drug-Resistant TB. This is worsened by the fact that South Africa is a highly burdened country with MDR-TB, which spreads just like any TB,” added Sandy.
MDR-TB is a type of tuberculosis which is both complicated and expensive to treat. It is mainly caused by defaulting which leads to drug resistance, but can be spread in its form just like any other TB.
Sandy said treatment in rural areas was compromised, especially in hard to reach places where access to services is stretched apart. “This makes it hard and costly for TB patients to travel and access services. Most rural people are poor and cannot afford regular travel over a period of six months to get treatment. This forces some patients to default on treatment, thereby increasing chances of MDR-TB,” he said. Sandy said there was need for SADC countries to consider mobilising efforts to treat the disease.
“TB treatment is only free of charge to citizens. So, when people migrate to neighbouring countries, they are asked to pay for it,” he added. As testing machines are only available in Bulawayo and Harare, the country will struggle to contain the ever rising cases of the disease.
“Since we have established laboratories that diagnose the MDRTB, we have been able to carry out the tests since 2010, where we recorded 29 cases. In 2011 there were 180 cases, and so far this year, we have recorded 95 cases,” said Sandy. Cases of new TB infections are declining, with 47,685 cases in 2010 and 41,305 cases in 2011.
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