R80m injection to help fight TB infection in the Western Cape

Radiographer Akhona Masebeni works inside the new mobile X-ray clinic. Picture: Henk Kruger/African News Agency (ANA)

Radiographer Akhona Masebeni works inside the new mobile X-ray clinic. Picture: Henk Kruger/African News Agency (ANA)

Published Mar 25, 2021

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Cape Town - The provincial Health Department has received a R80 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, for programmes and efforts to see the prevention of Tuberculosis (TB) in the province.

The announcement was shared on World TB Day, commemorated at the Brooklyn Chest Hospital, Ysterplaat, yesterday (Wed).

Representatives from the Western Cape government, the City and partners gathered for the official unveiling of a mobile X-ray clinic temporarily stationed at the hospital.

The clinic has been screening individuals for TB since the start of March.

Premier Alan Winde, Health MEC Nomafrench Mbombo and Department of Health head Dr Keith Cloete were in attendance.

The Western Cape Government, City of Cape Town and their partners officially unveiled the mobile X-ray clinic, which has been screening medical staff for TB since March 1, 2021, at Brooklyn Chest Hospital in Cape Town. Picture :Henk Kruger/African News Agency (ANA)
Town, with funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, have committed to an ambitious effort to magnify their focus on Tuberculosis from 2021 onwards. Picture: Henk Kruger/African News Agency (ANA)

The three year programme with the R80m funding will assist in identifying people with TB and connecting them with treatment services.

Similar systems in place for Covid-19 will be adapted for TB care.

This includes: medicines distribution, telemedicine, call centres, and client and contact tracing for TB management and response.

Winde and Mbombo participated in a demonstration by the radiographer of the mobile X-ray clinic.

“As much as TB has been there, I don't think that we have managed to get deeper into it with regard to managing TB completely.

“I'm talking about South Africa in general,” said Mbombo.

Winde said TB test positivity rates in the province increased over the last year, reaching a high of 21% in September.

“This indicates that we were not testing enough people to pick up new TB cases.

“The reality is that the Covid-19 pandemic was a ‘hammer blow’ to our efforts to respond to TB, and we must now step up the fight drastically.”

Radiographer Akhona Masebeni works inside the new mobile X-ray clinic. Picture: Henk Kruger/African News Agency (ANA)
Radiographer Akhona Masebeni prepares Premiere Alan Winde for a chest X-ray inside the new mobile clinic. Picture: Henk Kruger/African News Agency (ANA)

Family physician at Brooklyn Chest Hospital, Dr Julian te Riele said the Covid-19 pandemic had a devastating impact on TB patients and programmes.

Chief executive at TB HIV Care Professor Harry Hausler said among the 390 000 infected with TB in the country, there were 154 000 undiagnosed and untreated.

“What that means is all of those people are in the community and are infectious and can each infect 10 other people.

“Because of delaying access to treatment, they become sicker and more likely to die of TB.”

Picture: Henk Kruger/African News Agency (ANA)
AR technology allows x-rays to be quickly screened for TB inside the new mobile x-ray clinic. Picture: Henk Kruger/African News Agency (ANA)

Cape Argus