South Africa confirms over 100 killer-TB cases

More than 100 people, nine of them from Gauteng province, have been infected with a deadly strain of tuberculosis, local media reported on Wednesday.

The strain of TB, known as extremely drug- resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB), had been identified in nine patients in Gauteng, six in the Free State, 10 in North West and at least 78 in KwaZulu Natal, the English daily the Star quoted Director- General of Health Thami Mseleku as saying.

In addition, there were at least three suspected cases of XDR- TB cases in Limpopo province, according to the report.

"These figures are based on hospital and laboratory results that are available. Other provinces may have cases that we do not know about," Mseleku said at a special two-day crisis meeting currently being held between health officials, the World Health Organization (WHO) and Southern Africa Development Community ministers of health in Pretoria.

He said that without special efforts to test TB patients for resistance to drugs, the government would be unaware of the presence of XDR-TB among TB patients.

He urged pharmaceutical and diagnostic firms to correct the gap with respect to new TB drugs and new diagnostic tests.

XDR-TB, a respiratory, airborne disease, was fast- tracked to the top of the international agenda after results from a KwaZulu Natal study presented at the Toronto Aids conference in August showed that 41 percent of 536 TB patients had multi-drug resistant TB (MDR-TB) and 53 had the XDR strain. All but one of the XDR-TB patients died within a month.

With the convening of the crisis meeting, South Africa became one of the first countries to ask the WHO for help to fight XDR-TB.

XDR-TB is resistant to the majority of drugs available to treat TB and MDR-TB. And because of this, South Africa has had to look to old drugs to try to combat the disease.

Source: Xinhua