The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Only 33 percent of patients with MDRTB are able to access treatment
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Ministry of Health is to carry out a survey to determine the burden of Multi-Drug Resistant Tuberculosis(MDRTB) in the country.
The nationwide survey will give a better picture of the prevalence of the disease in the country. The survey is expected to start at the end of July and will be funded by USAID.
Currently, World Health Organization-WHO statistics show that annually, an estimated 1,500 people develop or are infected with MDRTB.
Dr. Raymond Byaruhanga, a senior technical advisor at the National Control TB and Leprosy Programme at the Ministry of Health says the survey will give a better picture of the burden of MDRTB.
He says current figures on the disease are not accurate since it is believed that some cases of the condition are not diagnosed.
The 2020 TB Global Report released by the WHO showed that only 33 percent of patients with MDRTB are able to access treatment. This means around 67 percent of MDRTB cases go undetected, which means they are not in treatment and spreading the disease to unsuspecting people.
Dr. Daniel Kyabayinze, the Director of Public Health at the Ministry of Health says the survey will enable the government to plan appropriately.
“The survey will help inform us and direct our response to the disease. At the moment we have old data,” Dr. Kyabayinze said.
The survey is also supposed to help show where the people with the disease who do not get treatment are. It is estimated that 1,000 Ugandans with MDRTB are not on treatment.
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