More than 250 people in Port Elizabeth have been diagnosed with multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis, the Herald Online reported on Tuesday.
It said some of them were possibly living with the deadly extreme drug resistant (XDR) TB.
At least 18 people in Nelson Mandela Bay metro had already died from multi-drug-resistant (MDR) TB, but officials would not confirm that the cause of death may have been XDR TB.
Jose Pearson TB Hospital in Port Elizabeth housed about 250 patients diagnosed with MDR TB.
Chief medical officer Dr Chris Pretorius said all were tested for XDR TB and the results were expected later this month.
”We could not just test for XDR TB right away. We needed permission to run the tests because they are expensive,” he said.
Pretorius said the 18 people who died had been discharged from the hospital after being treated for MDR TB.
He said he could not confirm if it was XDR TB that killed them as no tests were conducted.
The XDR strain of TB is resistant to the first line of treatment drugs — which are used to treat primary TB — and second line drugs used to treat drug-resistant TB.
Drug-resistant TB develops into MDR TB and eventually into XDR TB if not properly treated. – Sapa