TB Not a Threat Says Ministry Of Healthy

By Vitumbiko Mvula………

The ministry of health through the National Tuberculosis (TB) and Leprosy Elimination program has asked Malawians not to be worried with the rise of TB cases in the country.

This comes after 2022 reports show TB cases are on the rise compared to the previous five years. For instance in 2021 there was a decline in the cases with 12 percent.

Dr James Mpunga, Program manager of the National TB and Leprosy Elimination program attributes the rise in cases to covid-19 as turn up for people going for TB screening dropped due to fear of visiting hospitals and much health attention was paid to battle covid 19 that turned the world upside down claiming thousands of lives .

In making sure that Covid -19 does not interupt the fight of other communicable diseases, the ministry has since outlined strategies to assess TB cases and bring them to light .

“We had to introduce the mobile diagnostic units and door to door screening to reveal cases that were hidden in communities as people were afraid to go for screening in hospitals,” he said.

Mpunga also said that measures are installed to make sure there is no spread and TB preventive therapy is given to children under the age of five and to those that areHIV positive.

“Nothing to worry, the ministry interventions in screening TB is what contributes the rise of cases, because we get a picture of the problem,” he added.

Global reports show that there is a fall of TB cases in Malawi for five years as it is now 132 people per population of 100, 000 at the moment.

Meanwhile guardians are advised to put on personal preventive equipments when attending to a patients until the patient is certified negative by health personnel’s.