The National
Tubercloisis Programme (NTP) of the Ministry of
Health and Social Welfare commemorated the World
TB day nationally at Botsabelo MDR-TB hospital
on Thursday March 24, 2011. The Minister of
health Dr. Mphu Ramatlapeng officially graced
the commemoration ceremony.
This year's World TB Day theme was 'Transforming
the fight towards elimination', and the theme is
said to seek to join forces of all stakeholders
to support efforts geared towards elimination of
TB in the country.
The ceremony was marked by visiting MDR TB
patients by the Minister accompanied by senior
staff of the Ministry of Health as well as
development partners and stakeholders in the
fight against TB.
Speaking at this occasion, the Minister of
Health said in 2010, 13,140 TB patients were
registered countrywide most of them were youths
suffering from HIV and AIDS (76.9%) whereby 81%
of them were treated successfully and cured.
She said TB is the major opportunistic infection
and the major source of death among people
infected with HIV and AIDS adding that the
situation is worsening even though TB is
curable. Meanwhile studies are currently
undertaken to determine the quicker way to
detect the TB virus to people living with HIV
and AIDS.
Dr. Ramatlapeng revealed that in a bid to
improve TB detection in the country, the
Ministry of health will soon launch Gene Xpert
Mycobacterium Tuberculosis (MTB) Resistance to
Rifampicin (RIF) MTB/RIF which will be used in
speed detection of TB to HIV positive people
adding that this will enable the Ministry to
expand access to timely treatment. This test
will be crucial to win the war against TB as it
is very difficult to detect TB from people HIV
positive patients.
She said the test will be piloted in three
districts of the country: one central region,
south and north especially in high HIV
prevalence districts. With the support of
development partners such as Elizabeth Glaser
Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF) in
collaboration with Disease Control Division of
the Ministry of Health, the country is geared
towards TB elimination.
Though a slight improvement has been realized in
terms of addressing Multi Drug Resistance
Tuberculosis (MDR-TB), TB still poses a serious
challenge on the lives of many hence the need
for it to be eliminated. The Minister said it is
only when patients have access to treatment that
the country can achieve Millennium Development
Goal's (MDG's) in line with quality health.
Speaking at the occasion the MDR survivor Mr.
Tseliso Mofolo who was diagnosed with MDR TB in
2007 is now treated and cured. He was diagnosed
with TB and used treatment for six months but
his condition never stabilized. He was tested
for MDR and found positive and had to be
admitted to MDR hospital for four weeks during
the initial treatment. Mofolo who used to weigh
38 kg when he was ill is now recovered and
weighs 75kg and look healthy.
“I encourage TB and MDR-TB patients that they
should not loose hope of recovery because their
lives depend entirely on their own efforts to
take medication and live healthy lives,” he
said.
MDR-TB side effects include becoming mentally
ill, experiencing persistent diarrhea and loss
of weight, as well as loss of hearing.
World Health Organisation (WHO) defines TB as an
infectious bacterial disease caused by
Mycobacterium Tuberculosis, which most commonly
affects the lungs.
The MDR-TB was first detected in Lesotho in 2007
hence the opening of MDR-TB isolation hospital
in Botsabelo, Maseru. The hospital has the
capacity of admitting 24 patients. Currently the
hospital admits about the average of 15 patients
in a month.
To ensure that patients eat healthily, the
ministry provides them with food packages when
they come for their monthly check-ups. Each
patient on MDR-TB is given 25kg of mealie meal,
2kg of peas and beans, 4 kg sugar, 2 litres of
cooking oil, 10 kg of sorghum, 500g of powdered
full cream milk.
TB and HIV infections were attributed as among
the factor that hinder many country to achieve
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), according
to 2010 MDG report.
Global Fund Round 8 TB grant contributes in
assisting Ministry of Health to address MDR
TB/HIV co-infection and other challenges
focusing on care and infection control,
introduction of new diagnostics for smear
culture and drug susceptibility testing (DST),
empower people and communities infected with TB
through Advocacy, Communication and Social
Mobilisation (ACSM) as well as to promote and
enable research on MDR-TB.
Among the activities to fulfill these objectives
include provision of food packages to MDR/XDR-TB
patients, procurement of TB drugs, TB screening
for high risk groups and training of community
to ensure community TB care and infection
control. This grant commenced on September 2010.
