EC REMAINS HIGHLY SUSCEPTIBLE TO TB – WSU RESEARCHERS FIND

Photo By: Thom Pierce

As the world observes World Tb Day on 24 March, new studies by two researchers from the Tuberculosis (TB) research group at WSU’s Faculty of Health Sciences have indicated that the Eastern Cape remains highly prone to TB infection, treatment failure and fatality.

WSU academic, Dr Lindiwe Faye, is currently serving as the Laboratory Manager at Nelson Mandela Academic Clinical Research Unit where she began her research in 2018.

Faye, together with her counterpart, Dr Ntandazo Dlatu, who serves in the Cecilia Makhiwane Quality Control Office, sought to probe the continuous spread of TB in the province’s poorest communities.

Following extensive examination of the factors surrounding the TB endemic, the two found links between the province’s high poverty rates and the spread of the disease.

“There is a symbiotic relationship that exists between TB and poverty, which is not well managed and understood in rural areas. Poverty in rural areas is a very prevalent and powerful determinant of tuberculosis and constitutes a direct risk factor for tuberculosis transmission. Poverty results in undernutrition which contributes to developing active diseases and weakening the immune system leading to risk of easy infection,” said Faye.

Faye, whose study revolved around transmission dynamics and public health impact of TB infections among patients in rural areas, also found that the management of TB was further complicated by high levels of drug resistance, especially Multi-Drug Resistant TB (MDR).

According to Faye, one of the biggest challenges concerning TB treatment is the coexistence of drug-resistant and drug sensitive TB-causing bacterium strains at the same time in a patient, this is known as heteroresistance.

“In the findings of the study it increased with time. By the third year of the study period, the heteroresistance rate was almost triple that of the previous year. The impact of heteroresistance on treatment outcomes remains to be determined further in rural Eastern Cape, hence I am currently investigating the reason behind increase of rate in heteroresistance,” said Faye.

Dlatu, said that, TB also happened to be the leading cause of death for patients living with HIV in the O.R Tambo district Municipality.

Dlatu’s papers asserts an integration of TB and HIV patient treatment was one of the ways in which government and healthcare professionals could curb its effects. However, this integration remained a challenge.

“TB control and poverty reduction cannot be achieved solely by seeking improvements of target indicators on averages across populations; instead, specific needs of vulnerable communities must be addressed. In some poverty-stricken settings, individuals known to have TB are stigmatized, leading to denial, and preventing timely diagnosis and effective treatment. This can be addressed by tackling stigma through knowledge dissemination and behavioural change with the support of former TB patients and others,” said Dlatu.

Dlatu also asserts that the global emergency of TB at a time when cheap and effective anti-TB drugs were available was a paradox that should be addressed through societal and political means.

By Yanga Ziwele