Frances Baard Tuberculosis (TB) Blitz, Ganspan Community Hall
3 March 2007
Mayors and councillors
Farmers and farm workers
Members of the community
Officials from the Department of Health
Firstly, I would like to thank everyone here for making the effort to attend
this very important meeting. We know how hard the farming community works and
we also know that you look forward to your rest on the weekend. However, while
enough rest and relaxation are important factors when it comes to good health,
so too is combating TB and HIV in our communities and your presence here
indicates that you are committed to building a healthy South Africa.
I have been informed that there are a number of farmers in this district who
are already committed advocates for TB and I would like to acknowledge your
efforts. And for those of you who do not yet know of the seriousness of the
strife in this country, I hope that during March, which has been declared World
TB Month, you too will become committed in the fight against the diseases which
are threatening our communities.
In a brief overview of the history of TB, the World Health Organisation
declared Tuberculosis as an emergency in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2005, after
which the Honourable Minister of Health, Ms Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, declared
TB a crisis in South Africa.
We currently know of over 5 000 people who are living with TB in our
province and last year, I declared the Siyanda and Frances Baard districts
'crisis areas' in the Northern Cape.
TB is a disease caused by a bacterium that predominantly affects the lungs.
It can very easily be spread from person to person when infected droplets,
which are spread during coughing or sneezing, are inhaled into the lungs.
Living conditions that are overcrowded and poorly ventilated areas are
therefore more susceptible to harvesting the TB germ.
However, not everyone who contracts the TB germ gets sick with TB and people
whose immune systems are not strong, such as people living with HIV and AIDS,
are therefore most at risk of getting TB.
This does not mean that only people with HIV and AIDS can get TB. Anyone can
TB, whether you are HIV positive or HIV negative, whether you are young or old.
It is thus a disease which affects every single one of us and for that reason
we all have a role to play in the fight against this disease.
As a responsible member of society, you can take action by getting tested if
you display any of the symptoms of TB, which include:
* coughing for more than two weeks
* coughing up blood
* no appetite
* pains in the chest
* weight loss
* lumps and swellings
* tiredness or weakness of the whole body
* sweating at night, even when its cold
* getting a fever which comes and goes
* becoming short of breath for no reason.
If you are living with someone who has TB, it is also essential that you get
tested. You can visit your nearest healthcare facility to get tested and if you
do have TB, you will be put onto treatment.
Remember TB is not a death sentence. TB can be cured!
TB treatment is available to the community free of charge. However, TB
treatments costs government a very large amount of money and it should be
treated with respect.
I say this because TB can be cured only if you take your medication for the
prescribed amount of time, which can be anything from six month to 24 months,
or even longer, depending on how bad your TB is and whether you have normal TB,
Multi-Drug Resistant TB or Extreme Drug Resistant TB.
If you take your TB medication randomly and stop taking it when you start to
feel better, even though you have not finished the full course, you will not
get better and the TB germ will stay with you.
It is therefore very important that everyone realises that TB medication
requires accuracy and regularity in order to work. By this, I mean that if you
start taking it at 8h00 in the morning then you must take it at 8h00 every
morning until the day your healthcare workers tells you that you can stop.
I cannot emphasise enough the importance of not stopping your medication
until your health-care provider tells you that you can stop. This is because
you could develop one of the drug resistant strains of TB, which I mentioned
earlier, namely Multi-Drug Resistant TB (MDR-TB) and Extreme Drug Resistant
TB.
These drug resistant forms of TB are much more dangerous, they also take a
lot longer to cure and the treatment is also a lot more expensive.
As an example, it costs approximately R400 just for the medication to treat
a normal case of TB while it costs approximately R40 000 just for the
medication to treat a single case of Multi-Drug Resistant TB.
In the Siyanda District, we currently have nine people who have contracted
Extreme-Drug Resistant TB. Their treatment is even more expensive and they will
have to stay in the quarantine unit at the Gordonia Hospital for at least 24
months before they will be allowed to return home.
As you can see, a huge amount of money is being used to cure TB patients. We
should therefore stamp out this disease once and for all so that the money
spent on TB medication can instead go towards meeting the many other needs of
our communities.
Fortunately, we have not yet had any confirmed cases of XDR-TB in this
district, however, the high rate of people defaulting on their medication in
this district and the increase in cases of MDR-TB is worrying because as I said
earlier, if you do not complete your medication, you are at risk of contracting
the more dangerous strains of TB.
In the same breath, we understand that living in the rural areas often
limits your access to healthcare, as it is not always easy to get to the
clinics in order to get your medication, and it is not easy remembering to take
your medication every day either.
It is for this reason that I want to call upon members of the farming
community for assistance. Perhaps there are farm workers who are willing to
sign up as Direct Observation Treatment (DOT) supporters.
The role of a DOT supporter in the fight against this disease is critical
and should not be underestimated, as it is their task to support and check up
on TB patients to ensure that they have the necessary treatment and that they
are taking their medication properly.
It is also necessary to address the issue of disclosure, which is just as
critical if we wish to halt the spread of TB and eventually eradicate it.
If people do not disclose for fear of being discriminated against, they will
not receive the support that is necessary to see them being cured.
In terms of this, you should know that after a person with TB has been put
on treatment, he or she will no loner be infectious. There are also measures
that can be followed to ensure that the TB does not spread, such as keeping all
areas well ventilated by keeping the windows open and maintaining a flow of
fresh air.
Small things, such as learning to cough with your hand in front of your
mouth, can also stop the spread of the TB germ and it is thus critical that as
communities, we educate ourselves on these matters.
Whilst I have already put much emphasis on TB, I would not be doing justice
if I left here without addressing the critical issue of HIV and AIDS.
HIV and AIDS exist in large numbers in our country and right here in the
Northern Cape and people from every sector of society are being affected.
It has spread like wildfire and is no longer a disease of poverty. Instead,
HIV and AIDS can be found in every community, in every race, in every gender,
in every age group, in every class.
It is a disease far more ferocious than TB. And unlike TB, there is no cure
for HIV and AIDS and countless lives have already been lost as a result.
The virus is predominantly spread by having unprotected sex. I thus
encourage you to correctly use a condom whenever you engage in sexual
relations. It is also important that you know the status of the person with
whom you are having sex.
I also want to encourage everyone in this hall to have an HIV test. We must
all know our status so that if we are HIV negative, we can stay HIV negative,
and if we are positive, we can live positively.
At the same time, I wish to warn you about substance abuse. After too many
drinks, people tend to become careless and they lose their inhibitions and go
off with other women. This is also the time when a large number of rapes occur
and in turn, AIDS is spreading at an even faster level.
It is high time that people start to take responsibility for their own
health. A healthy lifestyle involves eating lots of fruits and vegetables,
cutting out too much red meat and eating more chicken and fish. It also entails
getting at least 30 minutes of exercise three times a week, and very
importantly it means guarding yourself against HIV and AIDS.
Furthermore, if you are already HIV positive, living healthily is just as
important, if not more important, in order for you to be able to continue
living a fulfilling life. There is also treatment for HIV positive people,
which although cannot cure you, can immensely improve your quality of life.
I must mention that HIV and TB also very often go hand in hand, and many
times when a person has one of these diseases, it is likely that they may also
have the other. Therefore, it is important that if you are diagnosed with TB,
you also get tested for HIV, and vice versa.
However, that is not to say that if you have TB, you are HIV positive, or
that if you are HIV positive, you also have TB, but it means that being HIV
positive substantially increases your chances of getting TB.
In closing, I would like to reiterate that TB can be cured, and that it can
be cured even if you are HIV positive, as long as you take your medication
properly.
I thank you.
Issued by: Department of Health, Northern Cape Provincial Government
3 March 2007
