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New TB drug expected to improve cure rates

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THE standard procedure in Zimbabwe is that when a person tests positive for HIV and AIDS he/she is immediately tested for Tuberculosis (TB).
In cases where the person tests positive, he/she has to start simultaneous treatment of the anti-retroviral therapy (ART).
TB can usually be cured.
The treatment usually consists of a combination of TB drugs that must be taken for at least six months.
However, the treatment will only be successful if the drugs are taken exactly as required for the entire length of time.
It is against this background that Zimbabwe has rolled out the latest tuberculosis (TB) drug called Delamanid, which is taken once a day.
This comes as drug-resistant TB rate continues to rise in the country.
The new TB treatment programme will see people affected by the disease taking one drug per day as opposed to between 12 and 16 tablets per day.
Speaking to the media, the Health and Child Care Minister, Dr David Parirenyatwa, said introduction of the new drug is anticipated to help the country improve cure rates.
The launch came prior to the commemoration of World TB day on March 24.
“TB is the top killer disease in the world and the main reason is that people delay to seek treatment,” he said.
“However, we believe the new drug will improve the cure rates because in 2015 alone, around 10,4 million fell ill due to TB and 1,8 million of those people died. We know that TB is the top killer infectious disease in the world.”
Dr Parirenyatwa encouraged people to seek immediate treatment when they have a prolonged cough for two weeks.
“We should know that TB still kills. It used to be said that if you cough for three weeks, you should seek treatment. But now we are saying within two weeks if you see you have a prolonged cough, seek treatment,” he said.
In 2016, Zimbabwe recorded 27 343 TB cases compared to 2015 which had 28 225.
However, there was a rise in drug-resistant TB from 427 cases in 2015 to 437 in 2016.
Drug-resistant TB means the bacteria in one’s body will not be affected by certain drugs that they are resistant to.
It can be because the person does not take his/her drugs properly or it could be because the bacteria that he/she is infected with would have come from someone who has already got drug-resistant TB.
Hence, they will be changed to a drug they will be sensitive to.
Government has also acquired 20 digital X-rays for TB screening that have been installed in provincial hospitals across the country and more machines will be availed in district hospitals.
Other tests for diagnosis include the TB skin test, sputum microscopy, the culture test as well as the new Gene Xpert test.
TB is a bacterial disease which, in humans, is usually caused by an organism called mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis).
The TB bacterium is spread through droplets in the air when an infected person coughs, sneezes or talks.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 70 percent of the global TB and HIV and AIDS co-infections are in sub-Saharan Africa and Zimbabwe is ranked number 20 among countries in this category.
The bacteria that causes TB in humans usually affect the lungs, but can affect other parts of the body.
If one is infected with the bacteria, he/she will not necessarily become sick because of either latent TB or TB disease.
Latent TB occurs when a person has the bacteria within his/her body but the bacteria are present in very small numbers.
It is under control by the body’s immune system and does not cause any symptoms.
People with latent TB do not feel sick and do not have any symptoms.
And they are not infectious or able to pass on the bacteria to others.
TB becomes a disease when a person has latent TB and then becomes sick.
Sometimes this is known as having active TB or TB disease.
Some people become sick soon after they have become infected, before their immune system (the part of the body that fights diseases) can fight the bacteria.
They will become sick years later when their immune system becomes weak for another reason.
This can be because they have an infection such HIV or some other health-related problem.

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