North West MEC for Health, Dr. Magome Masike has urged Directly Observed Therapy (DOT) supporters to never relent in ensuring tuberculosis (TB) outpatient complete their treatment as prescribed. DOT supporters remain a key strategy in the fight against TB said MEC Masike.
Addressing World TB Day commemoration in Tloung Village near North West capital, Mahikeng, MEC Masike said the Department has invested in about 800 DOT supporters since 2009 in an effort to improve cure rate and defaulter treatment.
DOT supporters are assigned by TB nurses to patients within their communities whom they must assist with continuous support to comply with their treatment requirements to the end.
The province’s treatment outcome improved from 40,3% to 63,7% (over 20% cure rate) with patients defaulting treatment also showing a decrease from 10, 8% to 8, 3% in the past three years and this to some extend can be attributed work of DOT supporters.
“It is imperative that those who are receiving Tuberculosis treatment (approximately 30 000 patients) should complete treatment as prescribed by health professionals and to cooperate with DOT supporters.
“TB is curable but many TB patients fail to complete their treatment. Because they default, many patients then become victims of severe TB,” Masike said.
Defaulter rate is a cause for concern since non-compliance to treatment is the major contributing factor to multi-drug resistant (MDR) TB and extremely drug resistant (XDR) TB. Treating MDR/XDR TB is very costly as compared to treating an ordinary TB. This puts a huge strain on the department given the numerous and complex public health challenges it is facing.
The Department yesterday unveiled a new MDR TB unit with extra 40 beds to deal with the epidemic.
“TB patients must know that though we are making more beds available for MDR TB, we also do not want them to get to the stage of MDR” he said.
Enquiries:
Tebogo Lekgethwane
Department Spokesperson
Cell: 082 929 9958
E-mail: tlekgethwane@nwpg.gov.za
