Kampala, Mar 29: Maureen (not real name), an HIV+ mother of two, is a Multi-Drug Resistant
Tuberculosis (MDR-TB) survivor.
Her story is similar to many other TB patients who have
contracted TB unknowingly. Maureen contracted Tuberculosis (TB) in 2013 while
on a bus from Arua to Kampala.
“A man seated behind me, in the bus coughed so hard, and the smell of his breath was so bad,” she narrates.
Maureen adds that she started coughing the next day and the cough stayed for a while, “I coughed for about two weeks, and it was so painful on my right side, that is when my aunt advised me to visit the hospital after all the medication we tried, had failed.”
When Maureen visited Arua Regional Referral Hospital, she tested positive for TB. She was immediately put on Directly Observed Treatment (or DOTs) regimen, the standard treatment for TB that lasts for six months.
The treatment entails swallowing tablets taken at the same time of day for six months under the supervision of a trained health worker. If taken diligently as specified in the guidelines, the chances of curing of TB are as high as 95 per cent.
However, a month after starting the treatment, Maureen stopped taking the drugs. “I reached out to my pastor and my peers who prayed for and counselled me and I believed I would be okay without the rigorous medication. Besides, I had started feeling better,” she says.
Treatment of TB requires dedication from the patient to swallow drugs until the doctor advises the patient to stop. Ceasing treatment without a doctor’s advice or not taking it as prescribed can lead to resistance to the available medications by the TB causing bacteria.This makes the disease more difficult and expensive to treat. UNI
“A man seated behind me, in the bus coughed so hard, and the smell of his breath was so bad,” she narrates.
Maureen adds that she started coughing the next day and the cough stayed for a while, “I coughed for about two weeks, and it was so painful on my right side, that is when my aunt advised me to visit the hospital after all the medication we tried, had failed.”
When Maureen visited Arua Regional Referral Hospital, she tested positive for TB. She was immediately put on Directly Observed Treatment (or DOTs) regimen, the standard treatment for TB that lasts for six months.
The treatment entails swallowing tablets taken at the same time of day for six months under the supervision of a trained health worker. If taken diligently as specified in the guidelines, the chances of curing of TB are as high as 95 per cent.
However, a month after starting the treatment, Maureen stopped taking the drugs. “I reached out to my pastor and my peers who prayed for and counselled me and I believed I would be okay without the rigorous medication. Besides, I had started feeling better,” she says.
Treatment of TB requires dedication from the patient to swallow drugs until the doctor advises the patient to stop. Ceasing treatment without a doctor’s advice or not taking it as prescribed can lead to resistance to the available medications by the TB causing bacteria.This makes the disease more difficult and expensive to treat. UNI
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