The country has recorded an unprecedented surge in Tuberculosis (TB) cases because of Covid-19 pandemic-related disruptions in services.
Today, the Ministry of Health (MoH) launched four Tuberculosis (TB) policy documents which will provide health care workers with interim guidance in managing patients with presumed or Confirmed TB or Covid 19 and follow up.
According to acting Director of Health Dr Patrick Amoth, there is a reduction in the number of TB patients diagnosed and a rise among those seeking treatment.
He noted that TB continues to be a major public health concern with Kenya being ranked among the high burden of TB and TB/HIV.
“The Covid-19 has threatened years of progress towards control of the TB epidemic,” said Amoth during the launch of the Public-Private Mix Action Plan, Interim Covid-19/TB Management Guide, Integrated TB Leprosy and Lung Disease Guideline, and the Revised Asthma Management Guideline.
Amoth added “In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic that has put end TB progresses at risk, it is critical to ensure equitable access to prevention and care as we envisage to achieve Universal Health Coverage”
However, he noted that due to similarities in the presentation of Covid-19 and TB, fighting the two diseases could have been done without much strain on the health system.
TB is one the world’s deadliest infectious diseases. It kills more people than HIV and malaria combined.
In 2020, 21,000 people died of TB, four times the number of those who have died from Covid-19 since the pandemic began.
The disease is airborne and can lie dormant in someone infected with the bacteria. When a person develops active TB, symptoms may include a cough, fever, night sweats and weight loss.
Left untreated, TB kills about half of those affected. Someone with active TB can infect five to 15 others through close contact over the course of a year.
The World Health Organization revealed in October last year that Covid-19 had reversed years of global progress in tackling TB and for the first time in over a decade, deaths had increased.
Kenya is one of the 30 countries with the majority (at least 83 per cent) of cases. In 2020, around 140,000 people in Kenya were estimated to have TB, according to the country’s Ministry of Health.
Covid also meant that the number of “missing people” with TB – those who go undetected, untreated and unreported – increased. Nearly half of people with TB in Kenya last year were likely to have missed out on diagnosis and treatment. An estimated 15 per cent reduction in case finding was “largely attributable to the pandemic”, according to the Ministry of Health’s national tuberculosis, leprosy and lung disease programme annual report.
Restrictions on movement, patients avoiding health facilities, the repurposing of health services and workers to cater for the pandemic, and stigma related to similar presentations of Covid-19 and TB all contributed.
COVID-19 effects on TB include: Treatment interruption, continued community transmission, Development severe disease increasing risk of post TB complications, Development of drug resistant TB among others.
“The COVID-19 pandemic, threatened years of progress towards control of the TB epidemic. The disruption in the healthcare system caused by the pandemic resulted in a reduction in the number of TB patients diagnosed and a rise in those interrupting treatment,” Amoth said.
“Similarities between TB and COVID-19 present an opportunity to control these diseases in an effective manner without significant additional stress on our health system.”
Expounding on one of the documents, the PPM Action Plan 2021-2023, Ministry of Health Coordinator of TB Prevention and Care Action Plan, Nkirote Mwirigi said that it has three pillars among them effective leadership and stewardship, optimization of delivery, monitoring and evaluation of PPM interventions which will increase the number of private facilities offering TB services.
In a quick rejoinder, USAID TB and HIV Specialist Maurice Maina said that USAID has partnered with the government and has already printed and disseminated 4500 copies of TB awareness literature material, trained healthcare workers and even supported the PPM Action plan.
AMREFs Meshack Ndirangu echoed on the need for power partnerships, innovation and embracing emerging best practices on TB and lung disease control.
“Reaching all care providers and health care workers to effectively prevent, diagnose and treat TB, Asthma and COVID-19 will require a people-centered approach, with comprehensive and integrated health services that address the needs of the whole person.”