Gauteng province is not geared up to treat a killer tuberculosis (TB) strain for which patients have to be isolated, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Thursday.
”About 41 000 patients are currently being treated for TB in Gauteng, but the number of TB beds has dropped in the last year from 1 495 to only 820 beds,” spokesperson Jack Bloom said.
”This is because TB beds in the South African National Tuberculosis Association and Lifecare hospitals were taken over and rationalised by the province.”
Bloom said the government was slow in informing the public that there were cases of extremely drug resistant TB (XDR-TB).
A woman was diagnosed with the condition at Sizwe Tropical Diseases hospital. She refused treatment and later discharged herself.
She was re-admitted to hospital on Wednesday and agreed to treatment. The provincial department of health said she was being kept at an isolation ward.
”This new strain of TB requires isolation of infected patients, so we may well have to outsource TB beds again to the private and non-profit sector,” Bloom said.
Sixty people have died of XDR-TB at Tugela Ferry, KwaZulu-Natal, since January 2005, including eight admitted to hospital between March and August this year.
XDR-TB is a virulent form of TB, which is resistant to the two drugs used to treat multi-drug resistant TB, and to which people with HIV and Aids are particularly susceptible. — Sapa