Report indicates high TB cases in NCD

Kaugere clinic manager Janet Pongone says NCD is one of the high-burden tuberculosis provinces as 6009 cases were reported last year.
Pongone told The National that there were 276 cases of multi-drug resistant TB last year and it had gone down to 60 this year.
Pongone said TB did not target one group because it spread through the air and everyone was at risk of catching it.
She said the Kaugere clinic had outreach programmes that enabled them to visit communities to carry out awareness.
She said the best preventive measures for TB were;
l Making sure there was good ventilation in the workplace and at home which would  reduce the spread of the disease;
l Quick diagnosis and treatment;
l To close the mouth when coughing;
l To avoid over-crowded areas such as the market place; and,
l To seek early health interventions if signs and symptoms persisted.
“Some people have misconceptions about TB. Like TB spreads from sharing spoons, plates or cups,” Pongone said.
She said it was important to address TB in NCD because it had a large population.
Pongone said there were two types of TB, the TB pulmonary which was the common one that affected the lungs and passes from one person to another through the air, and the extra pulmonary TB found in the back or abdomen and remained there until treated.