148 TB deaths reported in 2019

NAMIBIA has reported roughly 148 deaths related to tuberculosis (TB) in 2019, or 7,4% out of a total of 2 004 cases during the first quarter of that year.

According to the Ministry of Health and Social Services, 87% of TB cases in 2019 were successfully treated.

The number of TB-related deaths in 2019 are a decrease from the approximately 619 deaths recorded in 2018. In 2017, the cases stood at 8 854.

During the first quarter of 2020, the country recorded 1 992 TB cases. Moreover, since the Covid-19 outbreak in March, Namibia is likely to report roughly 2 000 TB cases by the end of June.

The head of the national TB programme at the ministry, Albertina Thomas, said it expects TB cases to rise to 8 000 or 9 000 by the end of 2020.

TB patients and patients with underlying health conditions are susceptible to contracting Covid-19, which has spurred the ministry to set up strategies to mitigate the spread of Covid-19 to this risk group.

Thomas says the Khomas, Ohangwena and Erongo regions are TB hotpots, and the ministry is focusing most of its efforts on those regions.

She said Namibia has not faced any TB medication supply challenge amid the Covid-19 pandemic as the country planned well in advance.

Thomas partook in the panel discussion at the Covid-19 communication centre on Friday, discussing the impact of Covid-19 on TB patients.

She said TB and Covid-19 both affect the lungs, although Covid-19 presents with a dry cough and TB a productive cough.

She said both diseases are of public concern as they are transmitted from person to person.

“If you have one case of Covid-19, and one case of TB, these patients should be reported to the authorities. Although TB has been around for long, it remains a public health concern, and has been monitored the same way Covid-19 is being monitored,” Thomas said. She said Namibia participates in an end TB strategy as outlined by the World Health Organisation (WHO), and all countries are expected to ascribe to it.

Countries have to take ownership through stewardship and accountability to address the epidemic, she said. “The human rights of patients infected with TB should be protected, meaning we should provide our TB patients with integrated patient-cenred care and ensure they complete their treatment,” she said.

Thomas said the country is committed to ensuring that TB medication is available.

The ministry’s Dr Uapakuouje Pazvakavambwa said due to the Covid-19 lockdown, TB figures may not be accurate.

“We suspect there are more cases, but people who are potentially sick have not been presenting themselves to health facilities to be tested,” she said.

Pazvakavambwa said healthcare workers are delivering treatment to TB patients as opposed to patients visiting clinics and hospitals to avoid possible infection with Covid-19.

She said despite Covid-19, TB samples are tested at the Namibia Institute of Pathology.

Paulus Shaanika, senior health programme officer at the health ministry representing the Khomas region, said the ministry has adapted TB services amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

He said community health workers have been dispatched to the different regions, monitoring and educating TB patients to curb the spread of Covid-19 among them.

“We are consulting with and advising one another and our stakeholders to maintain Namibia’s 84% rate of curbing the spread of TB,” Shaanika said.

He said when patients present themselves to health facilities, they would be tested for both Covid-19 and TB.

“In May, we went to screen inmates at a correctional facility for TB, and we also screened them for Covid-19. A number of patients tested positive for TB,” he said.

– charmaine@namibian.com.na

In an age of information overload, Sunrise is The Namibian’s morning briefing, delivered at 6h00 from Monday to Friday. It offers a curated rundown of the most important stories from the past 24 hours – occasionally with a light, witty touch. It’s an essential way to stay informed. Subscribe and join our newsletter community.