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South Africa: Drug Resistant TB Patients Return to Hospital
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BuaNews (Tshwane)
27 March 2008
Posted to the web 27 March 2008
Bathandwa Mbola
Port Elizabeth
Most of the 31 Tuberculosis (TB) patients who had run away from a hospital in Port Elizabeth to be with their families over Easter have returned.
The Eastern Cape Department of Health said 33 Extreme- and Multi- Drug Resistant TB patients forced their way out of the Jose Pearson Hospital after taking off their protective masks and intimidating security guards.
The patients were being held in isolation because of the risk they pose in spreading the disease to their communities and to ensure that they comply with their medication instructions. "While some patients returned to the hospital two patients are still unaccounted for," departmental spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo told BuaNews. Mr Kupelo said the patients needed to understand that they were endangering the lives of their relatives when they left the hospital to see them.
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The patients who ran away will be educated about the dangers of running away and coming into contact with others until they are better. "As from the department will educate all patients and make them understand the consequences of their actions." He said the people they visited would be contacted and interviewed and would have to be screened for the disease.
TB is a contagious lung disease characterised by a cough that last for more than two weeks, night sweats, tiredness, loss of appetite, weight loss, chest pains and shortness of breath. The national department set a target to reduce the number of TB patients who default on their treatment, from 10 percent to 7 percent this year. Minister of Health Manto Tshabalala-Msimang said they would be focusing on the implementation of the five-year strategic plan.which outlines the target of improving the cure rate of TB and reducing the defaulter rate from 10 to 7 percent. The department is also determined to ensure that more than 3000 health workers are trained in TB management during the course of the year. This would ensure patients received the proper health care they deserved.
Minister Tshabalala-Msimang said the department was making every effort to ensure these patients were comfortable while being treated in isolation.
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