Gauteng.- The Gauteng Department of Health (GDoH) has said that as a result of the emergence of COVID–19 pandemic it has observed an increase in the number of TB and HIV patients that have defaulted on their medication since the 27 March 2020 lockdown period.
The GDoH said in a statement that that this has worsened the loss-to-follow-up (LTFU) rate of TB and HIV patients which has remained a challenge nationally since the beginning of the health programmes owing to a number of factors such as high mobility, incorrect and unreliable addresses due to fear of stigma around TB and HIV.
“The approximate number of patients that failed to collect their TB medicines is 1 090, while the number of patients that failed to collect their antiretroviral medicines is approximately 10 950. Since the lockdown the average percentage reduction in medicine collections for TB is 1.4% and 19.6% for HIV.”
The GDoH further said that it has developed and is implementing a track and trace plan to locate patients that have not come to collect their treatment and manage them accordingly. Through the Ward Based Outreach Teams; patients are followed up and given their treatment. Those requiring follow up for bloods are advised to report to the facility.
