Tuberculosis on the increase

...in Bosomtwe-Atwima-Kwanwoma
The Bosomtwe-Atwiuma-Kwanwoma District Health Management Team (DHMT) is to monitor the prevalence of tuberculosis which is on the increase in the district.

Dr K.K. Hussein, the District Director of Health Services, said the district recorded 24 cases in 2000, 33 cases in 2001 and 44 cases in 2002.


Addressing the annual performance review meeting of the DHMT, he said out of the 44 patients, 20 had total treatment and four died while receiving treatment.


Fourteen patients defaulted in the treatment and six could not be followed for their treatment due to the wrong addresses they gave.


The DHMT, Dr Hussein said, was therefore going to step up efforts at tracing all defaulting TB patients for total treatment.


''All accident victims will be given free treatment for the first 48 hours after which their relatives would be made to bear the subsequent debt incurred.''


He said the DHMT would acquire insecticide mosquito nets and give them to health personnel at the sub-districts for sale.

''Negotiations are still going on with the assembly to subsidise the nets and also establish a sale outlet at the district assembly offices to enable everybody to have access to the nets.''


Dr Asiedu Bekoe, medical officer in-charge of the Saint Micheal's Catholic Hospital at Pramso, urged health workers to be committed to their work no matter the conditions they find themselves in.


He attributed the success of the Jachie-Pramso sub-district to the commitment of the health personnel and said they worked as a team in spite of the little logistics.


Mr Yaw Fobi, Ashanti Region Co-ordinator of the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI), said malaria could be reduced if people patronised the impregnated mosquito nets.


He said that people were constrained in buying them due to the price and appealed to the assembly to subsidise it to enable more people to buy them to reduce the high rate of malaria cases.


The Jachie-Pramso sub-district was adjudged the best for last year in terms of performances in all fields of health programmes.