TB DAY: Stop misconceptions about TB

By Theresa Owusu Ako, a Journalist

Tuberculosis or TB, an airborne disease remains one of the world’s deadliest infectious killer diseases. Despite being described as one of the world’s deadliest diseases, the WHO notes that an estimated 66 million lives have been saved, due to global efforts to combat TB. The Covid-19 pandemic has reversed years of progress made in the fight to end TB and for the first time in over a decade, TB deaths increased in 2020. TB is the leading cause of death of people with HIV and a major contributor to antimicrobial resistance.

The theme for World TB day 2022 is, “Invest to End TB. Save Lives”. This is an urgent statement on the need to invest resources to advance the fight against TB and achieve commitment by global leaders to end the disease. This is especially critical in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic that has put the target to End TB at risk, and to ensure equitable access to prevention and care in line with WHO’s drive towards achieving Universal Health Coverage. More investment will save many more lives and fast-track the end of the TB. Saving lives means investing in TB diagnostic tools (Genexpert, Xrays), research, TB Preventive Therapy and Advocacy against Stigma. It is estimated that each day, about 41,000 people lose their lives to TB across the world and 28,000 get infected.

In Ghana out of the 44,000 cases diagnosed only 13,332 cases are identified. The question therefore is where are the more than 30,000 cases. Again, out of the 44,000 cases, 4,400 are supposed to be children but only 645 cases are actually found. This is indeed mind-boggling as some are aware they have the disease but simply refuse to seek help due to stigmatization. Others may also not be aware and cough for more than two weeks without reporting to any health facility to be diagnosed. It is good news that the National TB control programme is implementing a number of interventions to increase TB case detection. These include what is known as Directional Testing which involves picking samples of all coughs presumed to be Covid-19 cases and tested for TB. This intervention could be the ice breaker as the preliminary results from a pilot study in Greater Accra and testing for both Covid-19 and TB at the same time yielded 9% for Covid-19 and 13% TB positive.

Other interventions are the TB preventive Therapy and the Gene Xpert simplified real-time PCR platform which is able to test for both first and second-line drug resistance among patients. TB is cured with effective drugs using the Directly Observed Treatment or DOT approach where patients take their medications at home under the supervision of treatment support. It is important to note that a TB patient on effective treatment is less infectious after 2 weeks but still needs to cover their mouth and must complete their treatment at 6 months to be completely cured. This is a clear indication that TB is curable and preventable so people should not fear to seek help when in need as treatment is free. It is on record that treatment of drug-resistant TB is very difficult and expensive as such TB patients should follow their treatment regime religiously.

World TB Day

World TB Day which is marked on March 24 is a significant occasion for all health workers, partners, researchers, the TB community and all governments who contribute their resources to the fight against TB. It was set aside to commemorate the day in 1882 when Dr. Robert Koch announced his discovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacillus that causes tuberculosis. The World TB day is carried out annually in Ghana with other programmed activities carried out throughout the year. These activities are intended to raise public awareness about TB. Myths and misconceptions about TB and its related diseases must stop.

Indeed we are all at risk as TB anywhere is TB everywhere. There is a need to seek early treatment and encourage TB patients to complete their treatment. The risk of TB in Ghana is high according to experts so we should try to avoid overcrowded rooms and ensure proper ventilation. Remember Covid is still around and seems to be bedfellows with TB and share similar symptoms.

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