By Christopher Ambe Shu
"Are your parents aware that you are sick?”
Ngwa, a Cameroonian, provocatively asked his classmate, John, who had just stopped coughing and was catching his breath.
“I don’t blame you. I didn’t buy it?” fumed John in reply. Even though John, looking frail, had been coughing with difficulty, for over two weeks he did not deem it necessary to consult a medical doctor to ascertain the cause of his troubling cough.
Why? He probably thought he had not had enough pains to feel threatened by his ailment. He was ignorant that he had TB, whose victims are stigmatised in many regions
But he would later be told in hospital that he had Active TB, and advised to start and take his treatment seriously.
TB is an infection caused by a bacterium, called mycobacterium tuberculosis. TB is a dangerious, but curable disease, which has killed millions of people worldwide. Millions of people are still living with this infirmity despite increased efforts by health professionals to eliminate it from the surface of the earth
Health experts are agreed that, TB spreads through the air and usually affects one’s lungs. But other body parts such as bones, kidneys, spine and brain can also be infected
Indeed, there are two types of TB :( 1) TB Infection or Latent TB, meaning the bacterium is present but is not making the carrier sick; that also means the carrier can not spread the disease. (2) Active TB: the bacterium is present and is making the carrier sick; that suggests the carrier may be able to spread the disease.
Health is wealth. But unfortunately, many Africans -especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, for several reasons among which is poverty (weak financial power), don’t take their health seriously. They don’t respect their bodies and find no reason to give them special attention.
When you advise them to do check-ups or go for treatment at the early stage of an infection, this may be what you get in reply: “Don’t worry .I am feeling better. I don’t have money. I will be OK soon”
It is true that the body can get rid of some ailments without you resorting to medical treatment, but when an ailment is punishing you or taking long to disappear, there is that urgent need to seek medical advice and even moral support.
Some Africans forget that when one person in a family or community is sick other relations are affected and or infected in case of contagious disease.
The stress resulting from the sickness of a loved one could be financial, emotional, psychological or even physical-all obstacles to happiness
Suzy Prudden, one great mind, noted, “Your body is your vehicle for life. As long as you are here, live in it.
Love, honour, respect and cherish it, treat it well, and it will serve you in kind."
There are many killer- diseases such as AIDS, cancer, malaria, diabetes and tuberculosis (TB)
While some as AIDS are incurable such, others such as TB are curable. How nice to know that a killer disease is curable!
This writer’s particular concern here is on TB. Every March 24 is celebrated as World TB Day. That was the case last 24 March .This day is intended to celebrate the lives and stories of people affected by TB and those involved in the global war against this killer disease.
Cameroon, a Central African country with rising cases of TB, was also actively involved in this year’s celebration. In 2007, for example, it was estimated that Cameroon had 35,556 new TB cases and Cameroonians who were living with TB totalled 36.088.
World-wide in 2007 it was estimated that about 15 million people were living with TB despite sustained efforts to contain it.
When John, mentioned earlier, was coughing he did not suspect it could be a symptom of TB. Of course, he did not know that people with active tuberculosis often feel tired, and have a long lasting cough. Other TB symptoms may include weight loss, a fever or difficult breathing, chest pain, bloody sputum and night sweats
“Thank God that I was diagnosed with TB only. When I started coughing my classmates were claiming that I was an AIDS patient. That frightened me much and I was afraid to go to the hospital for testing .But I gathered courage and went for it. I was tested for both TB and HIV and I have only TB.I am already on drugs,” John who did not know how he got infected, but accepted that he was a heavy alcohol consumer, told me. “I have made my friends to understand that I am HIV negative. I am a free man.”
The people with the bacteria that cause tuberculosis far exceed those who have already developed active TB.
Health professionals often prescribe particular antibiotics for people diagnosed with the TB bacteria to take for some time, so to kill the infection, so it must not later develop into active TB.
And these bacteria –carriers are warned to strictly respect their drug prescription and to report any side effects as soon as need be.
For those who have developed active TB, they are prescribed a combination of antibiotics to take simultaneously so that the TB does not become resistant to treatment. TB patients require regular checkups to ensure they stay free of the tuberculosis disease, even after completing the full course of treatment that is usually six moths.
Dr. Matilda Ako Arrey, who is regional coordinator of Cameroon TB Control Programme for the Southwest Region with a population of over 1.3 million people ,on Radio Buea Health Updates slot, said, “TB cases are increasing in the region( Cameroon). Due to the HIV/AIDS pandemic, TB cases are increasing.”
The Southwest region of Cameroon has 16 TB treatment centres. In 2008, Wane Victor, a health worker assisting Dr Ako Arrey revealed that 1112 (pulmonary) TB cases were diagnosed, adding that 41 started treatment and later stopped.
The other nine regions of Cameroon have their own TB statistics
“Defaulting patients are a problem to us”, cried Dr. Ako Arrey, insisting that sensitisation on TB must continue. “We are not satisfied with the level of sensitisation here.”
She noted that those who are mostly at risk of contracting the TB infection are smokers, abusive alcohol drinkers, those poorly fed, and those living in poorly ventilated houses. She called for healthy living habits.
TB and HIV /AIDS seem to be in love. That is why when one has TB he is tested for HIV and vice versa so that proper treatment can begin right away.
HIV/AIDS weakens the immune system and so someone with HIV is likely to have TB
“A weakened immune system allows TB to reproduce unchecked within the body, causing illness,” according to one health writer, Mark Cichocki R.N of About.com.
“In HIV infected people, TB infection of the lungs or anywhere else in the body is considered an AIDS-defining condition. In other words, a person with both HIV and active TB has AIDS.”
There is no doubt that TB is a dangerous but curable disease; and that Cameroon ,like other countries, is making efforts ,supported by international organisations, to combat it.But such efforts need to be intensified at all levels.
But the panacea to TB, many now argue, is taking the right action at the right time. That would mean massive and continued sensitisation and education of citizens on all what the disease is about, subsidized treatment of patients, monitoring of patients on drugs, making TB drugs readily available, discouraging abusive smoking and alcohol consumption that are risk factors for TB; a call for improved diet and other healthy living habits such as enough sleep, regular exercise, strict respect of drug prescription.
But above all, action must be taken by all citizens within their means to pay greater attention to their health by going for regular medical check-ups. Health is wealth, they say.
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