In the absence of new TB drugs a 'trial' is being run in 8 sites in the Western Cape and 16 in Zambia to see whether various public health interventions could make a difference.
The Western Cape has always had a high TB burden with some clinics overwhelmed by the sheer numbers, however, two districts are managing to record excellent cure rates. Health-e spoke to Dr Keith Cloete, acting head of health programmes in the province.
A deadly new strain of drug-resistant TB presents an additional burden for overworked staff at KwaZulu-Natal's only MDR TB hospital.
Minister admits that the country is failing to deal with TB.
While government efforts to improve TB services have yet to bear fruit, there is some hope in the field of drug development.
In nearly three years, 18 000 newly diagnosed tuberculosis patients have passed through the TB Care Centre at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, in Soweto. Most of these people would not have known where to receive treatment.
As HIV infection rates increase, it is projected that so too will the incidence of TB - the most common opportunistic infection in people living with HIV and AIDS. And the dual epidemic presents real challenges for the health system.
Lack of adherence, poverty and the rural nature of the Eastern Cape province are the main problems that make curing of TB a major challenge. Health MEC Bevan Goqwana says many people in rural areas quickly develop resistance and succumb to TB because they do not take their medication properly.
This audio is in IsiXhosa.
A children's centre formed 12 years ago as a school for farm workers' children in Boksburg, on Gauteng's East Rand, is gradually being forced to rise up to the challenge of more social problems, including HIV and AIDS.
It is natural that people will only discuss personal matters with people that they feel comfortable with. That is why HIV peer educators in the workplace are important both to educate fellow employees and to help management respond better to HIV and AIDS. But results of a year-long survey show that they often work under challenging circumstances.
Allied Health Registrar and half-sister quit after 'continuous allegations of nepotism'
Over-crowding and long queues are part of daily life for Diepsloot residents seeking primary health care at the Johannesburg informal settlement's O.R. Tambo clinic. And staff shortages are the main fuelling factor.
For many Khayelitsha residents, water is a shared tap, sanitation a non-existent luxury and diarrhoea, a constant reality. On the eve of local elections, Health-e investigates how access to basic services impacts on residents' health.
Gloria Vena has given up swatting the flies gathering around her face. Her eyes seem empty and distant as she stares out the front door of her house, the back of her neighbour's rickety shack a few steps away from her makeshift front door.
The District Health Barometer paints a fascinating picture of how the country's 53 health districts are faring to keep their residents healthy.
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