Objectives:
• Identify, council, test and treat patients with TB in partnership with the Department of Health
• Promote education about TB and HIV/Aids
NMC and the provincial department of health have been collaborating on a programme to combat tuberculosis since 1997. They have formulated a contract for co-operation between the public and the private sector for the care of TB patients. The department of health is committed to providing NMC with anti- TB drugs and test facilities including sputum tests and micro-cultures, while NMC is committed to providing free TB care for its patients. In February 2001, the programme introduced a modified version of the directly observed treatment (DOT) principle and a defaulter tracing system. Defaulting patients are visited at home and persuaded to come back to the clinic. Since its implementation the project has succeeded in reaching a default percentage of 8 % of the entire TB patient population in 2001, 2002 and 2003. Currently three TB field workers undertake home visits and are very successful in reducing the default percentage. The programme is set up in such a way that it can be easily implemented in other townships. It serves as a model of how DOT- TB care can be implemented in rural areas at a relatively low cost. About 64% of the TB patients at NMC are HIV positive and as such admitted in the highly active antiretroviral treatment ( HAART ) programme, after completion of the six months TB treatment. It is amazing to see how patients can recover after an initial period of severe illness. Although HAART means lifelong commitment, it also means a good quality of life. The TB program is one of the fast growing project of the NMT. Did we see 183 new TB patients in 1999, in November 2005 we have already 1090 new patients enrolled.1 Please refer to information on the HAART programme
2 Please refer to information on the HAART programme