TB Cases Increasing in Tanzania Because of High HIV Prevalence, Other Factors, Health Official Says
The number of reported tuberculosis cases is increasing in Tanzania in part because of high HIV prevalence, weak health infrastructure and poverty, Fred Lwilla, senior program officer at the country's National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Program, said recently in Tanzania's capital of Dar es Salaam, the Guardian/IPP Media reports.
Lwilla said that being HIV-positive is the greatest risk factor for TB, adding that a lack of awareness about the link between the two diseases is hindering government efforts to control TB. He said that increased food insecurity and malnutrition in the country could have a negative effect on HIV/AIDS and TB, adding, "There is therefore a need for improving TB prevention, diagnosis and treatment for people living with HIV/AIDS through intensified TB case finding, preventive therapy and infection control." In addition, TB and HIV programs should integrate services, and affected communities should work together to reduce the TB burden among HIV-positive people, Lwilla said.
Lwilla also called on the media to increase coverage of TB, saying, "TB should be given prominence in news coverage so that the disease could be well known to the people." He noted that media coverage of HIV/AIDS has led to increased knowledge of the disease among the general public but that TB has not received adequate media coverage (Kigwangallah, Guardian/IPP Media, 2/10).
