Title: Using new weapons to fight the TB war.

POPLINE Document Number: 195307

Author(s):

Urdaneta C

Source citation:

Global HealthLink, 2002 Sep-Oct;(117):[2] p..

Abstract:

Today, as the sun rises over the rural villages of South Africa's Eastern Cape Province, community members witness what is becoming a common sight. A motorbike speeds by and its driver readily waves; today he does not stop to chat. He is Mtiteto Mfikile and he has work to do. Meanwhile, a village nurse hears the beep of her cell phone and she too gets to work - an SMS message from a nearby laboratory gives her TB smear results of a patient. She can start appropriate treatment now. It is their dedication - coupled with a novel concept in health delivery - that is making the days in these poor, remote villages brim with a renewed sense of hope for a healthier future. South Africa has one of the worst TB epidemics in the world, with an incidence rate of 362 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. In the rural areas of the Eastern Cape Province, where there are 500 cases for every 100,000 people, this fact is hard to miss. Various factors - poverty, HIV/AIDS, and lack of infrastructure - all contribute to rising TB rates, particularly in remote areas difficult to reach by standard vehicles and located a considerable distance from health facilities. (excerpt)

Keywords:

South Africa
Epidemics
Tuberculosis
Treatment
Telecommunications
Laboratory Examinations and Diagnoses
Africa, Southern
Africa, Sub Saharan
Africa
Developing Countries
Diseases
Infections
Broadcast Media
Mass Media
Communication
Examinations and Diagnoses