Dr Dominique Stott, Executive: Medical Standards and Services at PPS.
Statistics from the Electronic Tuberculosis Register indicate that 70% of tuberculosis (TB) patients in South Africa are co-infected with HIV, highlighting the critical importance of dual testing and treatment for those with both HIV/Aids and TB, particularly in light of World Aids Day on the 1st of December.
This is according to Dr Dominique Stott, Executive: Medical Standards and Services at PPS, who says that TB is often found as a result of HIV. “HIV leads to a defect in the immunity system of the patient, which results in an increased risk of contracting TB. Therefore, early diagnosis and treatment of these co-infectious diseases is key to avoiding long-term complications and even death.”
She explains that it is extremely important that both HIV and TB are managed effectively, as unmanaged co-infection has the potential to undo all the positive developments that have been made during the past few years with regards to mortality and morbidity of both TB and HIV positive patients.
A 2009 National HIV Communication Survey conducted in South Africa revealed that the majority of the respondents know what the duration of TB treatment is, but 49% of men and 45% of women believed that people with HIV cannot be cured of TB. Dr Stott points out that the results of the survey reinforce the importance of being tested as well as the necessity of educating South Africans about the success rate of curing TB among people living with HIV.
She adds that the Department of Health (DoH) has made a concerted effort to make both HIV and TB testing easily accessible for all South Africans at public health clinics across the country. “The DoH has increased HIV testing in the country, with 13 million people having been tested in 2010/2011.”
Dr Stott says that the DoH has also increased the number of people enrolled on anti-retroviral therapy (ART) programmes in SA, with 52% of those requiring ART receiving it in 2011. “This has largely been done by boosting the number of nurses delivering ART programmes, especially in rural parts of the country. This has proved to be both extremely cost effective and a more sustainable approach when compared to doctor-based treatment.”
The efforts by the DoH have shown a remarkable improvement in reducing the number of deaths related to TB. Dr Stott says there has been a 40% decline in HIV / TB deaths- and more than 1.3 million lives have been saved since 2004 - as a result of the two-tiered approach to the treatment of TB and HIV together. “This really proves that the dual treatment of the diseases has a significant impact on the number of deaths in South Africa related to HIV and TB.”
“TB is the most common illness to occur in someone diagnosed with HIV and it also accounts for 20% of HIV-related deaths in the country. It is critical that greater education about early detection and treatment is done in South Africa, in order to ensure that we continue to reduce the number of deaths resulting from HIV and TB infections,” concludes Dr Stott.
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