MOROTO – The increasing rate and influx of patients with tuberculosis (TB) in various health centers in Karamoja has shocked members of parliament attached to the parliament committee on TB.
The MPs who toured the region on December 19, 2019, learnt that a total of 7,000 people were suffering from the disease across the region.
Mr. Fonjeno Korobe, the Karamoja region TB and Leprosy supervisor told the MPs that the disease situation was alarming and needed affirmative action to contain it.
He said the situation is made worse as most of the patients get lost before completing treatment and they end up going to infect other people since TB spreads through air.
“Sometimes patients dodge taking drugs on grounds that they don’t have food and in the process, they disappear and continue infecting other people in their villages,” he said.
Mr. Fred Baseke, the vice-chairperson of Parliamentary committee on TB who also doubles as a member of parliament for Ntegeru South County said the increasing number of Tb patients in Karamoja was posing a threat to the whole country should the government pay less attention.
He said as MPs, they will lobby for the support from government to ensure that TB is kicked out of Karamoja before it worsens.
“TB is not like HIV/Aids that someone goes to look for but TB it comes to you through air whether you wanted it or not so we must to put our hands together and fight before it’s too late,” he said.
World health organization defines Tuberculosis as a dangerous bacterial infection that attacks the lungs
The disease spread from one person to another through tiny droplets released into the air via coughs and sneezes.
