Importance of taking TB treatment
Individuals diagnosed with TB are urged to take their treatment accordingly to help save many lives in the world.
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With tuberculosis (TB) being one of the most threatening diseases in the world, March 24 was declared World TB Day and March was classified as TB awareness month.
The City of Ekurhuleni (CoE) joined forces with the world to commemorate Tuberculosis Awareness Month 2024 under the theme, ‘Yes! We can end TB’.
The CoE had a 90% success rate from October 2021 to September 2022 with TB treatment.
Gilbert Motlatla CoE HOD for Health and Social Development Department said, “This shows the importance and the positive impact of outreach and health promotion programs the city has been hosting in the past years in ensuring that people affected by the disease take their medication.
“The city continues to host these impactful outreach and health promotion programs, hoping to stop TB.
Residents continue to receive free TB services and treatment adherence counselling.
“TB is preventable and curable, and we strongly believe we can end it when everyone is involved.
“We encourage patients to seek medical advice when presenting common TB symptoms. Those who have been diagnosed should be assured that our dedicated teams will walk the journey to health with them,” said Motlatla.
The common TB symptoms include:
• Excessive and unexplained fatigue;
• Unintended and evident weight loss;
• Drenching night sweats;
• Consistent cough;
• Chest pains;
• At times, coughing blood.
Any resident with these symptoms has to visit a local clinic to get tested.