01/16/08

Botswana Confirms First Cases of Extremely Drug-Resistant TB

On Wednesday, Botswana's Heath Ministry reported the nation's first known cases of extremely drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB), a highly contagious and virtually untreatable form of the disease that was first detected in the region in South Africa. According to the ministry, the country has logged two cases of XDR-TB as well as 100 cases of multidrug-resistant TB.

While XDR-TB has been reported in other parts of the world, especially the former Soviet republics, it is a major threat to AIDS-hit southern Africa. In recent months, health experts have warned that XDR-TB, previously confirmed only in South Africa and Mozambique, had spread to other countries in the region, but had not been diagnosed due to inadequate laboratory facilities.

Over 400 XDR-TB cases have been diagnosed in South Africa and a handful in Mozambique to date. Botswana is the only other country in southern Africa with facilities to test for the disease.

Batatu Tafa, permanent secretary at Botswana's Ministry of Health, called on health workers who develop chronic coughs or other symptoms while caring for TB patients to get screened. In addition, she also urged HIV patients to get tested for TB.

Also on Wednesday, the South African trade union Solidarity appealed to that nation's Health Department to devise a clear strategy to address drug-resistant TB. "South African public hospitals simply do not have the capacity to provide proper care for patients suffering from these highly drug-resistant forms of TB," Solidarity said, noting the escape of such patients from two hospitals in Eastern Cape just before the Christmas holiday.

Source: Associated Press:: Sello Motseta; Courtesy of the CDC National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention