World TB Day | Western Cape Government

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World TB Day

23 March 2006
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Be smart; get tested for TB from the start!

By creating a focus area every year on tuberculosis on World TB Day, Government hopes that more support will be forthcoming to support the fight against the disease.

This year health services will focus on campaigns in communities and schools to spread the messages and encourage people to come forward for testing.

Government has prioritised TB Control as needing urgent and sustained interventions. "The Western Cape Department of Health is committed to build on its existing TB programme, thereby providing a 'Healthy Home for All' in the province," said Pierre Uys, Minister of Health in the Western Cape.

"The Western Cape Provincial Government remains deeply concerned about the rising epidemic and is determined to ensure that additional resources are made available to support health services in the fight against TB," Uys said.

As a result an additional R12m was made available this year to support TB hospitals and those sub-districts worst affected by the epidemic.

"The Western Cape achieved 67% cure rates in 2004," said Dr Keith Cloete, Acting Chief Director: Health Programmes for the Western Cape Department of Health.

"Although much progress has been made to control TB and improve programme performance in Cape Town over the years, the number of TB cases reported each year continues to escalate with 26,794 cases reported in Cape Town alone last year - an increase of 10% compared to the previous year," said Dr Ivan Toms, Director, City Health.

Informal settlements where poverty and overcrowding are rife have experienced the most significant growth in reported cases with the overall incidence rates in Cape Town now up to 874 per 100,000 population, ranging from 496 per 100, 000 in Tygerberg to 1,612 per 100,000 in Khayelitsha.

In support of the Khomanani TB 2006 campaign - HOLA 6, the Western Cape Department of Health in conjunction with City Health and Desmond Tutu TB Centre will host several interventions for World TB Day, 24 March 2006. These include a Taxi Rank Blitz at New Guguletu taxi rank, clinic interventions at Luvuyo & Vuyani Clinics, a door-to-door awareness campaign in the Luvuyo and Vuyani communities and school awareness interventions in the surrounding areas. Pierre Uys, the MEC for Health will be visiting the Brooklyn Chest TB Hospital on the day.

The annual awards ceremony will take place on Thursday, 23 March 2006 at the Langa Indoor Sports Complex, Bhunga Avenue preceded by a photographic exhibition.

The overall objective of the open day is to mobilise the nation to test for TB and to encourage those that have dropped out of the programme to return and resume treatment. The open day will be dedicated to offering screening, testing, diagnosis, counselling, education, advise, appropriate referral to services and distribution of information material.

Media Enquiries: 

Dr Keith Cloete
Acting Chief Director: Health Programmes, Western Cape Department of Health
Tel: 483 2518
Cell: 082 4627 229

Dr Ivan Toms
Director City Health
Tel: 400 2100
Cell: 084-2200-143

Mark v/d Heever
Directorate: Communication, Western Cape Department of Health
Tel: 483 3716
Cell: 073 9422 902
Fax: 483 6169

TB Statistics: Cape Town

TB Facts

  • TB can be cured.
  • TB testing and treatment is free of charge at all local clinics

Tell tale signs of TB
TB is very common in our communities, what would make someone think they might have TB?

If anyone has two or more of the following signs present:

  • A productive cough that lasts longer than 2 weeks (may be blood-stained at a later stage)
  • Tiredness
  • Weight loss
  • Loss of appetite
  • Night sweats
  • Chest pain

Please note :

  • a cough for more than 2 weeks is never "normal" and must be investigated (even smokers and elderly people with bad chests)
  • Anyone with these signs would need to go to their nearest clinic for a free sputum test to see if they have TB

      • What causes TB?

      • Tuberculosis (TB) is a disease caused by Mycobacterium Tuberculosis
      • The TB bacilli can be present in a person's body for years and may reactivate into active disease when their resistance is low.
      • TB of the lung is the most common disease in adults, but TB can affect almost any organ in the body, e.g. lymph nodes, brain and bone.

      How is TB spread?

      • TB is contagious and spreads through the air
      • TB is spread by an infected person through coughing, sneezing or spitting. This action releases the TB bacilli into the air and others may breathe it in and become infected.
      • The average person with untreated, infectious TB will infect 10 other people per year

      How can the spread of TB be prevented?

      • TB bacilli are spread in sputum droplets, to stop the spread of TB do not spit and cover your mouth when coughing as the spray will contain TB bacilli.

      How can a person know for certain if they have TB?

      • To test for TB sputum specimens need to be collected from a patient and sent to the laboratory for testing.
      • The sputum (spit/phlegm) will be placed on a slide under a microscope to see if the person has TB

      Who is most at risk of developing TB?

      • Everyone can get TB but certain diseases (HIV/AIDS, cancer) or medications (steroid treatment), as well as poor diet, smoking and excessive drinking weaken the immune system and can make one more susceptible to developing TB.
      • Young children under 5 years are most at risk of getting TB, as well as people who are HIV positive

      How long is TB treatment?

      • To get well a patient will have to take the TB treatment for 6months.
      • If someone has been treated for TB before treat is 8 months and they will have to receive injections for the first 2 months as well
      • With certain forms of TB the treatment may be as long as 18 months

      Important facts to remember if a patient is on TB treatment

      • Once TB has been confirmed in a patient and the patient commenced on TB treatment, the person does not spread the bacilli to others, so there is no reason for them not to go back to work.
      • Patients must not stop TB treatment until the health worker tells them they may stop, even if you are already felling well.
      • TB treatment can affect certain contraceptive methods; a patient may have to change contraceptive methods whilst on TB treatment.
      • Alternative medicines or traditional medicines that cause vomiting or diarrhea should be avoided whilst a patient is on TB treatment

      How will a person know if the TB treatment is working?

      Patients will have to visit the clinic at regular intervals during TB treatment to have their sputum checked to see if they are responding to treatment

      What happens when a patient does not drink his/her tablets regularly ?

      • The patient will remain ill and infectious.
      • Most patients deteriorate and present to the clinic again later.
      • Irregular treatment can also lead to development of resistant TB which requires prolonged, expensive therapy with many side-effects. Many of these patients do not recover and die. They can also pass it on to others who may also develop this resistant TB.

      What about immunisation against TB?

      BCG immunisation at birth does not stop TB but prevents the more serious forms of disease (TB meningitis and milliary TB)

      What is the link between TB and HIV?

      • People with HIV have a weakened immune system and are more likely to get TB.

      • TB and HIV are spread in different ways:
      • TB germs are breathed in
      • HIV is most commonly spread through unsafe sex

      If someone has HIV:

      • TB in HIV patients can be prevented, treated and cured
      • Patients will need tablets to prevent other infections
      • Patients should be checked to see if they need antiretrovirals
      • The only way that we can tell whether you have HIV is through an HIV blood test
      • An HIV test is strongly advised for anyone with TB so they test positive they can be provided with extra care that is required for those with both TB and HIV
      • If a person's HIV test is negative then they can plan to stay HIV negative.

      Is TB a serious illness?

      • TB is the biggest cause of death to infectious disease in South Africa.
      • About half of deaths in patients with HIV can be attributed to TB. TB is the biggest cause of death among young women between 15 and 19 years old.
      • TB can lead to serious, irreversible damage of the lungs, disability and even death.