Focus on Covid pandemic saw rise in TB cases, deaths, say experts

SHAH ALAM - Tuberculosis (TB) has been on the increase in Malaysia as most of the efforts were focused on Covid-19, said a Public Health Physician.

Professor Sharifa Ezat from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia said the Covid-19 pandemic has had an impact on TB patients' ability to receive proper medication and medical follow-ups.

"During the pandemic, there was a decrease in screening activities as most of our efforts were focused on Covid-19."

"It takes a lot of effort to combat TB. The treatment for TB is available but it is easy to develop drug resistance, leading to a condition called multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), where the standard TB treatment no longer works," she told Sinar Daily.

She said treating MDR-TB is expensive and not easily accessible in pharmacies.

Apart from pandemic, Sharifa said obesity and diabetic are also one of the main reasons of getting TB which increases TB rate.

Tubercolosis symptoms

Sharifa said the first symptom is chronic cough of more than two weeks with a lung X-ray carried out to check on the symtoms.

"TB can occur in other places like brain and bone. The symptoms will differ based on the organs, for example if you have TB in spine, you will get back pain," she said.

Factors of tubercolosis

Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy Chief of Executive Azrul Mohd Khalib said there are many factors of getting TB but primarily because tuberculosis was not completely eliminated in Malaysia.

"It exists as active cases in different communities, including at prisons, detainees at immigration detention, migrants and patients with multi-drug resistant TB.

"Latent TB infection is also present among healthcare workers such as doctors and nurses who are often exposed to infection from patients.

"They could later develop active infection and infect others," he said.

Azrul said TB is curable disease however the course of treatment may be up to six months.

"However, there is now TB strains that are resistant to certain antibiotics and treatments, making it harder and taking longer to treat.

"The way to reduce these cases is to ensure that those with active cases are linked to treatment as soon as possible.

"What is equally as important is ensuring that patients adhere and complete their treatment from start to finish," he said.

Commeting further, Consultant Public Health Specialist Professor Dr Hematram Yadav said others than prolonged coughs, those infected are likely to experience night sweats.

"TB can cause other complications such as pneumonia, sepsis TB meningitis, TB military or TB in other parts of the body. "All these complications can harm and cause death to the individual," he said.

Therefore, Hematram urged the government to address imigrant population better.

"Malaysia plans to reduce TB by 95 percent in 2035 but unless we are committed to address the related issues well we may have difficulty in achieving the target," he said.