The TB diagnosis GeneXpert machine was availed by the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare last month. BCC Health Director, Zanele Hwalima said the GeneXpert machine was a vital machine necessary for the control of the infectious disease.
“Diagnosing TB promptly is a vital intervention in the control of this infectious disease,” Hwalima said.
According to research, it takes less than two hours for the machine to detect TB in a patient. Not only can GeneXpert detect the presence of the TB-causing bacteria, it can also accurately determine whether the bacterial DNA has the mutations known to make the disease resistant to the most commonly used drug, Rifampicin.