Cape Town — A patient with multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis who absconded from Brooklyn chest hospital, has blamed poor conditions at this hospital for his actions, including a complaint that 45 patients were expected to share just two showers and two baths.

This emerged during a provincial imbizo at the hospital on Monday, during which it was also revealed that 34 people in the Western Cape have now died from the deadly strain of TB, extremely-drug resistant TB (XDR-TB).

That figure is up from 29 last reported in February. In addition, the imbizo heard there are now 83 confirmed cases of XDR-TB in the province, up from 76 in February.

The patient with the slightly less dangerous MDR-TB, TAC activist Shane King of Atlantis, is one of many patients who have absconded from TB hospitals in the Western Cape and defaulted on the their treatment.

Three XDR-TB patients, who also absconded from the hospital but have since returned, are embroiled in a Cape High Court action against Health MEC Pierre Uys, due to go to court on June 3.

King, who is also HIV-positive and is on an intermediate TB treatment, told the imbizo that while he commended the staff at Brooklyn chest hospital, "I couldn't stay at the hospital".

"It's because of things like having 45 patients sharing two showers and two baths," he said.

King also claimed that in June 2007 the XDR-TB patients were sharing a ward with MDR-TB patients, sparking panic among those with the less severe strain and resulting in discrimination among patients.

King has since returned to his treatment, but as an out-patient.

He was a patient at Brooklyn chest hospital between April and August 2007, and is now continuing with his 18-month-long MDR-TB treatment.

A document presented by the provincial health department at the imbizo stated that MDR- and XDR-TB were potentially the most serious aspect of the TB epidemic in the province.

"This is due to the large burden of disease, the late presentation of cases, high treatment interruption rates and the high proportion of previously treated patients," the document said.

Detailing the latest XDR-TB statistics, the report said, however, that good progress had been made, with some patients declared non-infectious and discharged back to continue treatment in their communities.

The document also pointed to a consistent upwards trend in HIV prevalence in the province in the past nine years, with one-third of all TB patients in the Western Cape co-infected with HIV.

"In Cape Town, one out of every two TB patients is HIV-positive.

"Three out of 10 XDR-TB cases are also known to be HIV positive.

"Therefore, it's ensured that all TB patients are screened for HIV, and HIV patients screened for TB," it said.

In response to the growing TB epidemic, the department added an additional R12,5-million for TB control in the 2006/07 financial year for TB hospitals and primary health care interventions.

Five high TB and HIV burdened sub-districts with sub-optimal TB control programmes were declared TB Crisis Districts and received additional funding to strengthen TB control efforts.

The Western Cape was allocated additional funding of R55-million by the national government to address the MDR-and XDR-TB threat, and the general TB programme.

In her presentation, the department's director of HIV and Aids and TB, Brenda Smuts, said the high TB incidence was exacerbated by the high prevalence of HIV and Aids.

"In the past 10 years incidence has increased in parallel to the increase in estimate prevalence of HIV in the adult population."

Smuts said there were 631 MDR-TB cases in the province in 2007, up from 557 in 2006.