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Addis Ababa (Agenzia Fides) – Health officials in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, are concerned about the spread of tuberculosis in the city, whose population is more than 2.7 million. In a statement by Desalegn Gebreyesus, TB/HIV adviser at the Health Ministry, issued by the UN news agency IRIN, he said,”The spread of TB has nothing to with cold, though this has been the understanding held by a significant number of people.... This is what we are targeting - educating people through the media, dramas, pamphlets and gatherings - so they understand the real way of TB transmission.”
TV and radio stations frequently air commercials urging people with coughs lasting more than two weeks to seek TB testing and treatment. According to Desalegn, people in food-insecure areas, children under five and people in crowded spaces are most at risk of TB infection. People whose immunity is compromised, such as those living with HIV, are also at risk. An estimated 300 TB infections occur for every 100,000 Ethiopians annually, according to Ministry of Health statistics, and latest projections expect up to 12,000 new infections to be diagnosed every year in Addis Ababa. In reality, health facilities had 13,000-14,000 new cases on average over the last three years.
Addis Ababa has 35 government health facilities and 40 private health facilities that offer anti-TB treatment. However, case detection for TB in Addis Ababa is 63 percent, lower than the WHO target of 70 percent. When patients are diagnosed, about 80 percent are successfully treated, mainly through the directly observed treatment short course (DOTS).
The Ministry of Health is keen to avoid the development of drug resistant forms of TB. About 400 multi-drug resistant TB (MDR TB) cases are registered in Addis Ababa, 180 of which are receiving treatment at Addis's St Peter's General Specialised Hospital. The country has more than 5,000 MDR TB cases annually, according to WHO. (AP) (25/3/2011 Agenzia Fides)
