By JULIUS PHIRI  –
GOVERNMENT says tuberculosis (TB) has continued to exert enormous social and economic pressure on families.
Chipata District administrative officer, Kapembwa Sikazwe said during the World TB Day commemoration held at Namuseche prison in Chipata on Thursday that TB had the potential to reverse the economic progress of the district.
“TB has brought about a lot of social and economic hardships on our families.
“For instance, a good number of families have disintegrated because of increased number of orphans, widows and widowers as a result of TB deaths,” he said.
Mr Sikazwe said he was aware that smear positives TB cases in Chipata district had slightly reduced by 12, from 261 in 2014 to 249 in 2015.
He said the figures confirmed that the district had not been spared from the TB problem.
Mr Sikazwe said the sad news was that the annual TB cure rate had reduced from 82 per cent in 2014 to 81 per cent in 2015.
“The annual TB mortality rate for both 2014 and 2015 is at six per cent. These statistics show that we all need to unite and work extra hard if we are to reduce TB in Chipata,” he said.
Mr Sikazwe said the annual septrin coverage on patients having both TB and HIV/AIDS still remained at 100 per cent for both 2014 and 2015, while anti-retroviral therapy had increased from 69 per cent in 2014 to 82 per cent last year.
He said TB had brought a lot of hardships on families and that the Government would continue supporting efforts in TB prevention and mitigation.
The Government would continue providing laboratory diagnostic logistics and free TB and HIV/AIDS drugs in order to meet the global vision of a world free of TB by 2050.
Mr Sikazwe said this would ensure that all suspected TB cases were identified and referred to clinics for diagnosis and early treatment.