50% of TB patients do not show symptoms – Survey
Health experts say 50% of the people suffering from Tuberculosis (TB) do not show symptoms and have continued to transmit the disease among the community.
The senior Lecturer at the Department of Medicine, College of Health Sciences – Makerere University, Dr. Achilles Katamba says most people suffering from TB do not experience any pain and that they stay in the community transmitting the disease to other innocent people, further calling for a lasting solution to address challenges hindering the fight against the disease.
He made the remarks while officiating at the launch of a TB study research-based project code-named Re-imagining TB Care that will be carried out by the teams from the World Alliance for Lung and Intensive care Medicine in Uganda (WALIMU).
“Our prevalence survey found that 50% of the people who were identified to have TB never even coughed, never had any signs and symptoms. Such a person will continue to go to the market, shop, to go and do his own work,’ he said.
He says the study will be carried out in the districts of Wakiso, Kayunga, Mukono Mpigi, and Buyukwe. The project is intended to come up with a designed programme that helps the country to provide proper treatment services to eradicate the disease.
The project will take a period of five years and is being jointly funded by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and the US Centre for disease control (CDC) with a $5.5 million grant to run the project in Uganda and Vietnam.
According to statistics, over 90,000 people are suffering from TB in Uganda.
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