KOTA KINABALU: A total of 4,515 cases of tuberculosis (TB) were recorded in Sabah in 2013, which on record is the highest contracted disease compared to other communicable diseases.
State Health Department director Dr Christina Rundi disclosed this yesterday in her speech delivered by her deputy, Dr Richard Avoi, during the launch of Sabah Anti-Tuberculosis Association’s (SABATA) 60th Anniversary Seminar entitled “To Improve Detection, Treatment and Curing Tuberculosis.”
According to Dr Rundi, the number recorded for the disease is the highest compared to other communicable diseases such as malaria and dengue.
“TB is on the rise and is a serious problem in Sabah and it is still a challenge to keep the disease under wraps, especially with cases that are diagnosed too late,” she said.
She added that possible contributing factors to the delayed diagnosis of TB are due to the patients themselves, who are unaware of early symptoms, or the healthcare delivery system.
“It is also believed that there are still many more undetected cases of TB (in the State), as the search for TB cases is still low,” Dr Rundi said.
Another challenge, she said, is to deal with the refusal of treatment, especially from the immigrant community, which has contributed to the rise of drug-resistant TB cases.
Therefore, she urged for cooperation between non-governmental organizations and the Health Department to help in controlling TB, especially through awareness programs.
Meanwhile, head of the National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Sector, Dr Jiloris F Dony of the Health Ministry, said that Malaysia ranks seventh on the list of TB-burden countries within the 37 countries listed on the World Health Organization’s Western Pacific Region.
“TB is the second most common communicable disease in Malaysia, after dengue and is the leading cause of mortality among all communicable diseases,” Jiloris said.
He also said that ensuring quality screening and clinical management of TB cases, providing adequate infection control measures in healthcare facilities and early case findings are, amongst others, efforts to control the spread of TB.
About 230 participants attended the public seminar, organized together with the Malaysian Association for the Prevention of Tuberculosis (MAPTB), which was held in conjunction with the World Tuberculosis Day that falls on March 24.