18 March 2020
TB the deadliest infection of all in the Overstrand Writer Colleen Naudé
T
he Coronavirus has made people around the world aware of the consequences of a highly infectious disease. A total of 16 cases of people infected by the virus has been reported in the Western Cape thus far (by 16 March) and Corona has become the talk of the town – also in Hermanus. However, most people in the Overstrand remain oblivious to the fact that they are surrounded – and thus at threat of being infected – by tuberculosis (TB), the world’s deadliest infection. TB is highly contagious, and if undetected can spin out of control, affecting all sectors of the community. It is estimated that 80% of inhabitants in the Western Cape carry TB bacteria. On 24 March, World TB Day will once again be commemorated to raise public awareness of the devastating consequences of the disease. The date marks the day in 1882 when Dr Robert Koch, a German physician and microbiologist, announced that he had discovered the bacterium that causes TB, opening the way towards diagnosing and curing this disease. Throughout the year, Overstrand TB health workers of the Hermanus branch of SANTA (South African National Tuberculosis Association), with the help of home carers, monitor patients taking medication, and do TB screen-
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ing of all the exposed contacts at the source patient’s home. Even friends who visit often are screened for TB symptoms.
But, equally importantly: Every person who tests positive for TB and who is not on treatment, can infect 10 to 15 people.
As a special effort to raise awareness on World TB day, they will try to reach as many dwellings as possible through door-to-door screenings and testing in Hermanus, Kleinmond, Stanford and Gansbaai. Sometimes patients do not seek treatment on time.
The Overstrand, a sub-district of the Overberg, has a very high incidence of TB as well as multi-drug-resistant TB (MDR TB). This is very worrying. But, the Overstrand is also the only sub-district that is supported by an outside agency, SANTA, which has been working for well over two decades to reduce TB in the area.
There are many reasons for this: They might be too sick to walk to a clinic, or they cannot afford to miss a day off work and put themselves at risk of not getting paid. Furthermore, the stigma still attached to TB ends up killing people as they do not want to be seen at a TB or HIV clinic. “It is vitally important to make these house calls, as many people who are sick do not know that they have TB. The result can be devastating. "Just recently house visits in one street in Stanford revealed that 11 children had been infected by adults with the disease who had not been on treatment,” says Sue Holmes, SANTA Hermanus chairman. TB is an airborne disease. This means that when a TB-infected person who is not on treatment, talks, sings, coughs or sneezes, the bacteria are spread. Anybody in the vicinity can develop TB, even after months or as long as 20 to 30 years later. However, it is important to remember that a person who is on treatment is no longer infectious.
Initiatives include providing much-needed extra staff to assist the local clinics to improve the identification, treatment and education of patients. Eight TB health care workers are paid by SANTA. Patients defaulting on medication are visited at home, and sufferers no longer infectious can obtain medication at an out-ofhours kiosk, funded by SANTA, at the Zwelihle taxi rank. SANTA Hermanus also strives to improve ways to make it easier for patients to understand the disease, like funding tablet computers and the production of video material in English, Afrikaans and isiXhosa. To help raise funds, and to give SANTA an identity in Hermanus, the organisation runs a second-hand bookshop, manned by volunteers. The shop in Aberdeen Street attracts book lovers, and more and more people are donating large quantities of – sometimes valuable – books to help this worthy cause.
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