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| National |
| Free drugs for TB/HIV patients |
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by
Pilirani Semu-Banda, 13 March 2003
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National TB Programme Manager Dr. Felix Salaniponi said on Thursday TB patients who are also HIV positive will be getting free anti-retroviral drugs on top of the free TB drugs the patients already get.
Salaniponi said this is within the TB/HIV integrated services programme which, he said, is part of the way forward on combating TB in the country.
He said patients who have TB will be tested for HIV after being counselled and that those who have HIV will also be tested for TB after some counselling.
“But the anti-retroviral drugs are only given to such kind of patients after they have taken the TB drugs for two months because it is not proper to combine the TB drugs with anti-retrovirals at the beginning of the TB treatment,” said Salaniponi.
He announced this new initiative in line with the commemoration of the World TB Day which falls on March 24 each year.
On Wednesday Salaniponi said TB cases in the country are decreasing at a good rate thereby creating hope that the country will gradually combat the disease.
“We now have a good treatment programme and people are getting cured and therefore not passing it to others,” said Salaniponi.
He said the availability of anti-retroviral drugs to HIV/Aids patients has also helped in the decrease in numbers of the TB patients.
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