Understanding tuberculosis to avoid stigma!

This year, World Tuberculosis Day has the theme: Vietnam commits, invests, and acts to end tuberculosis! This year's theme emphasizes the importance of sustained commitment, resource investment, and effective intervention measures for the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and care of tuberculosis.

Over the years, this work has always received special attention from the Party and the State, demonstrated through a strong commitment to tuberculosis prevention and control with many specific policies and actions. On March 25, 2024, the Prime Minister issued Official Dispatch No. 25/CĐ-TTg on strengthening tuberculosis prevention and control. The Ministry of Health has also directed and issued the National Tuberculosis Control Program, promptly implementing guiding documents on the detection, diagnosis, and treatment of tuberculosis in conjunction with medical facilities.

These policies have boosted tuberculosis prevention and control efforts, building on previous achievements and aiming to end tuberculosis by 2030. Thus, Vietnam has only six years left to achieve its goal of eliminating tuberculosis from the community. This requires the support and commitment of leaders at all levels, ministries, agencies, organizations, and the entire society to ensure the synchronized implementation of tuberculosis prevention and control interventions from the central to local levels.

In recent years, along with advances in medicine, tuberculosis treatment has achieved many positive results, limiting its spread in the community. However, the epidemiological situation of tuberculosis in our country remains very serious. In 2023, Vietnam ranked 12th out of 30 countries with the highest burden of tuberculosis in the world; and 10th out of 30 countries with the highest number of drug-resistant tuberculosis patients globally.

In Quang Tri province , tuberculosis prevention and control efforts also face certain difficulties. According to Nguyen Van Nghia, Director of the Quang Tri Tuberculosis and Lung Disease Specialist Hospital, in 2024 the hospital detected and admitted 400 cases of tuberculosis of all forms, with a success rate of over 91%. According to the plan for 2025, the hospital will increase the number of detected and admitted tuberculosis patients to 650 cases; maintaining the success rate of treatment at 91%.

Simultaneously, improve the quality of tuberculosis diagnosis and treatment at the facility, enhance testing and chest X-ray capabilities, with particular emphasis on the use of 2X (diagnosing tuberculosis using chest X-ray and Gene Xpert test to detect tuberculosis bacteria) at facilities across the area with diverse collaborative models.

Despite positive results in tuberculosis prevention and control, the reality is that a large number of people in the community remain undiagnosed for tuberculosis. Limited funding, resources, and personnel have resulted in some objectives of the tuberculosis prevention and control program in the province not being fully achieved.

Furthermore, discriminatory attitudes towards tuberculosis patients are considered a major barrier to those suspected of having tuberculosis accessing equitable healthcare services, leading to feelings of shame and causing patients to hide their illness, thus increasing the risk of transmission in the community.

According to health experts, detecting one tuberculosis patient saves one life and prevents the disease from spreading to approximately 10-20 others. This shows that combating stigma against tuberculosis patients is crucial for effectively controlling the disease and gradually eradicating it from the community. Fearing stigma, many people conceal their condition upon diagnosis and refuse treatment. This is partly why tuberculosis can spread widely in the community or lead to drug-resistant tuberculosis, resulting in prolonged and costly treatment.

There was a time when people with tuberculosis faced immense stigma from their families and communities. This stigma was just as dangerous as the bacteria they carried. In some cases, unable to bear the ostracism, some chose to end their own lives. Many other patients suffered from feelings of shame and sought to conceal their illness.

Therefore, in addition to professional work, effective communication to mobilize the active participation of the community, civil society organizations, and relevant departments in tuberculosis prevention and control, and to reduce stigma and discrimination against tuberculosis patients, is an extremely important task. Public awareness campaigns must aim to help people understand the disease correctly so they can seek early treatment and avoid discriminatory attitudes towards patients.

Tuberculosis (TB) is a dangerous infectious disease, but not everyone infected with the TB bacteria will develop the disease. Many people wonder what to do if they have been in contact with someone with latent TB infection. A person with latent TB cannot spread the bacteria to others. Therefore, patients do not need to be tested if they have been in contact with someone with this type of infection; testing is only necessary if they have been in contact with someone who has TB or someone with symptoms of TB. As soon as you notice signs of TB infection, you should go to the nearest medical facility for examination and accurate diagnosis. TB treatment must be started as early as possible and always adhere to the three "D"s: correct, sufficient, and consistent.

In addition to mass media communication, emphasis should be placed on direct communication efforts such as: training to improve the capacity of staff in charge of tuberculosis prevention and control from the provincial to district and commune levels; and village health collaborators. Simultaneously, the involvement of Party committees, government agencies, departments, mass organizations, and socio-political organizations should be mobilized, with the health sector, farmers' associations, and women's associations playing a core role in tuberculosis prevention and control.

Anh Thu

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/benh-lao-hieu-dung-de-tranh-ky-thi-192414.htm