Durban — Government has successfully been able to manage and treat more Tuberculosis (TB) patients in "crisis" areas such as Johannesburg, with the Department of Health reporting an increase in the TB cure rate.

Addressing the four-day South African TB Conference, organised by the Foundation for Professional Development, Manager of the department's TB Programme, Dr Lindiwe Mvusi said TB cure rates in crisis districts have shown progress.

"We need to sustain the gains we made in these districts," said Ms Mvusi, adding that crisis districts include Johannesburg, eThekwini, the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality and Amathole in the Eastern Cape.

During the first six months of 2005, the national cure rate was 54.9 percent. This figure increased to 62.9 percent for the same period in 2006.

The number of people reported to be infected with TB in the country is also leveling off with 337 641 cases reported in 2007, down from 341 165 in 2006, according the department.

Further to this, the department recording a reduction in the numbers of TB patients who default on their treatment between 2000 and 2006.

The national defaulter rate was 8.8 percent for the first quarters of 2006, which was down from 9.7 percent for the same period in 2005.

The Umsinga sub-district, which includes Tugela Ferry where the first cases of Extreme Drug-Resistant TB (XDR-TB) were reported, has already achieved a zero percent defaulter rate.

Confirming this Ms Mvusi said: "The outcomes of notification on treatment of patients in 2006 are very low."

The TB Defaulter Tracing Teams, which were established to ensure defaulters returned to their hospitals for treatment, have since February this year been able to locate 92 percent of treatment defaulters in the sub-districts where they are deployed.

This successful project will soon be expanded to other districts

The conference, which kicked off in Durban on Tuesday, aims to sharpen the country's TB programme and also explore the roles of civil society organisations and communities in assisting government to deal with the challenges TB presents.

Interventions such as strengthening TB control and health systems; empowering people with TB and civil society; prioritising TB research and implementing the Directly Observed Treatment came under the spotlight.

Ms Mvusi called for effective programme management and complementary roles of all within the health system and partners towards the control of TB.

She noted that poverty and poor financial and human resources, a high mobility of patients, poor infection control in facilities and high TB and HIV co-infection were among the challenges needs to be addressed.

The need to adopt a community based approach, through the involvement of all community structures, was need with regards to TB control.

"TB control is a human right, a public good and a public health issue. We can make a difference," Ms Mvusi said.