TB crisis plan set up

The provincial health department says it is trying to deal with the problem. Sizwe Khuphelo, of the Eastern Cape department of health, says: "This is part of our TB crisis plan that we have launched recently. With that plan we are getting a 50% TB cure rate in Nelson Mandela Metro, Amathole and O.R Tambo District municipalities. We have also set aside R150 million to deal with TB that includes ordinary TB cases in the province. Now we are also trying to spread our wings by building another MDR-TB facility on this part of the province because currently we have only one MDR-TB facility that deals with MDR which is Jose Pearson in Port Elizabeth. So this is going be the second facility that will deal with MDR-TB cases for the province. We have launched a TB crisis plan as the department to deal with TB."

The old Sir Henry hospital in Mthatha is to be demolished to make way for a 500 bed health facility to handle TB, MDR and XDR cases from around the Transkei area in particular.

source:www.sabcnews.com