The National Department of Health’s tuberculosis (TB) prevention treatment, known as 3HP, has begun yielding positive results.
Initiated in July 2020, this treatment utilises chest X-ray imaging. Artificial intelligence is then used as a screening tool to identify people – both adults and children – who should be laboratory tested for TB.
According to Dr Thandi Dlamini-Miti, senior technical advisor for TB at the healthcare organisation Right to Care, this screening allows for the detection of TB in the lungs of asymptomatic patients.
“It is considered a game-changer because treatment is shorter, less toxic, promotes better adherence, has a higher barrier to resistance and is safe to use with first-line antiretroviral therapy,” Dlamini-Miti said.
“We are also delighted about the availability of TB treatment for children younger than eight and weighing less than 25 kg.”
Fruit-flavoured dispersible tablets have greatly simplified children’s TB treatment.
“This will lead to better adherence to treatment and better treatment outcomes for young children.”
Right to Care works closely with the Department of Health to accelerate the use of this medication in the hopes of turning the tide of TB.
According to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, a division of the National Health Laboratory Service has made significant strides in adopting the World Health Organization’s recommended diagnostic technologies and therapies for the prevention and management of the disease.
Intervention measures have reportedly resulted in South Africa being one of only six countries to achieve the End TB Strategy milestones for 2020. This country saw a reduction of 20% in TB cases between 2015 and 2020.
In addition, South Africa is one of 18 high-burden countries to achieve a greater than 80% coverage of testing for resistance to rifampicin.
This drug is an antibiotic used to treat several types of bacterial infections, including tuberculosis.
