Government report reveals people at higher risk of contracting Tuberculosis

gloria mari

November 21, 2017 2:11 PM

Why you're at risk of contracting TB.

Tuberculosis is the leading infectious killer disease in Kenya as of 2016. Especially among people diagnosed with HIV.

It is a bacterial respiratory infection that affects the lungs and spreads in the air through coughs and sneezes.

In 2017, the Global Tuberculosis Report showed that there were 10.4 million new cases of TB worldwide with 10% of those infected with HIV.

The World Health Organisation estimated that there are 600,000 new cases with resistance to rifampicin which is the most effective first line drug against TB.

Multidrug resistant TB is still a health security threat with 490,000 of the aforementioned new cases being so.

Thankfully, since 2000, there has been an estimated 53 million lives saved but that is not the number health organisations worldwide were aiming for.

Only 54% of infected cases usually have access to healthcare.

15% of every 500,000 TB cases reported of HIV patients didn’t have access to antiretroviral therapy.

The burden of TB in Kenya is even higher than previously thought according to a TB prevalence survey report.

In Kenya, TB affects 558 of every 100,000 people.

Every year about 138,000 people get infected with TB.
Prevalence of TB is double in men than in women.
Men are most susceptible to TB mainly between the ages of 24 and 35. Among women, it affects those over 65 mostly.
TB prevalence is higher in urban areas.

gloria mari