The fight to eradicate TB is gaining even more momentum as partners unite to bring a mobile testing unit to communities for quicker TB detection so that life-saving treatment can start sooner.
On 20 May the Western Cape Government Health and Wellness (WCGHW) and a partner in the fight against TB, the Maternal, Adolescent and Child Health Institute (MatCH) celebrated the launch of a mobile digital chest X-ray service in Worcester.
“We actively seek out TB in communities and ask people with TB symptoms to visit our clinics, but if you do not have symptoms, you can still spread TB without realising it,” says Mrs Angelique Theron, manager of the Primary Healthcare services for WCGHW in the Breede Valley. “This is where an initiative like the mobile digital chest X-ray service will strengthen our approach.”
Communities can expect to see the mobile unit at health-care facilities and in communities in Worcester and De Doorns. There is a high prevalence of TB in the Cape Winelands District, including the Breede Valley, Drakenstein, Langeberg, Stellenbosch and Witzenberg.
“MatCH has, together with THINK-SA (a non-profit organisation founded to improve the quality of life of people affected by TB and HIV), and through the generous support of USAID Southern Africa, endeavoured to increase access to TB-screening services to local communities through our Mobile Digital Chest X-ray Services,” says Dr Moegamad Kahaar, MatCH Senior Technical Advisor for drug-susceptible TB and drug-resistant TB. “The MatCH X-Ray vehicle will be stationed at various high TB burden facilities in both the Cape Winelands and West Coast Districts. Since performing an X-Ray and getting results are quick, we are able to screen large numbers per day and have them closer to being started on TB treatment.”
WCGHW thanks all the partners for their support in strengthening TB prevention and treatment. Health-care workers remind everyone to visit their nearest clinic if they have one of the most common signs of TB:. A persistent or unexplained cough;. Coughing up blood;. Chest pain when coughing or breathing;. Weight loss and / or loss of appetite. Or, when children don’t gain weight;. Generally feeling unwell or having a fever; and. Sweating profusely at night.
People who test positive for TB can be treated and cured by completing their treatment. Health-care staff are there to support you along your journey.
By the end of July the mobile digital chest X-ray service will move to the West Coast for two months, and then return to the Cape Winelands district.
