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Health department: TB is curable AS PART of its World TB Day activities, the Joburg department of health is conducting door-to-door education and awareness campaigns that the disease is curable. March 23, 2005 By Lucky Sindane A DOOR-TO-DOOR awareness campaign is planned for World TB Day, on Thursday, 24 March, when Johannesburg's health department will take the message, "Tuberculosis (TB) is curable", to the city's residents. In addition, the department will set up information stalls in several regions, including at local clinics and libraries. In Pimville, in Soweto, an entire programme has been drawn up that includes music and education stalls. "A number of TB education campaigns will be conducted throughout the city to educate the public about TB and its symptoms," says Antonia Barnard, the City's assistant director for communicable diseases. "The main message of the campaign is that TB is a curable disease - in spite of the threat of HIV/Aids." The City's health department is training 325 volunteer treatment supporters to become community health workers, in line with the national Community Health Worker Policy to improve the care of TB patients. The theme of World TB Day is "You, me, all of us must stop TB now". As part of its activities, Joburg will have testing facilities in all 11 City regions. City health workers have been encouraging people to go for free TB tests at their local clinics, especially if they have the following symptoms: coughing for more than two weeks, night sweats and loss of weigh. Adherence to treatment is crucial, Barnard says. "Those who have been diagnosed with TB often find it difficult to adhere to the treatment as it must be taken over six to eight months. "Some TB patients stop taking their treatment because of the fear of family rejection because of the stigma associated with TB and HIV/Aids." To help patients stick to the treatment regime, the Directly Observed Treatment Strategy Short-course (DOTS) was established. DOTS is a global strategy, advocated by the World Health Organisation; a TB patient is paired with a "buddy" or a volunteer treatment supporter who reminds the patient to take the required medication. Permission to use web site material Publishers may use material from this site free of charge, as long as: Credit is given to either the "City of Johannesburg website (www.joburg.org.za)" or to "Johannesburg News Agency (www.joburg.org.za)"; If the article is used online, a link is provided to the original article on this website; The name of the article's author is acknowledged; The webmaster is informed of how and where the material is used (fill in this brief online form). Johannesburg News Agency is operated by BIG Media at 011-484-1400 Print this Page E-mail this article to a friend Help using Joburg.org.za