Tuberculosis remains number two killer<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Despite decades of hard work to eradicate
\ntuberculosis, the disease remains the number two killer in
\nIndonesia, an expert said yesterday.<\/p>\n
Pulmonologist Hadiarto Mangunnegoro, head of respiratory
\ndiseases at University of Indonesia's School of Medicine, said
\nthat Indonesia's number one killer is coronary disease.<\/p>\n
\"Although the government has spent years, there is little that
\npeople with tuberculosis can expect,\" Hadiarto told a media
\nconference yesterday.<\/p>\n
He said the death rate among tuberculosis sufferers is high
\ndue to the lack of treatment rather than the failure of
\nmedication.<\/p>\n
The conference was held to announce the planned 14th Asia
\nPacific Congress on Diseases of the Chest and the 7th national
\ncongress of the Indonesian Association of Pulmonologists in
\nDenpasar, Bali, from June 23 to June 27.<\/p>\n
Also on hand were other specialists, such as pulmonologist
\nYudanarso Dawud, cardiovascular expert Syukri Karim, and Tarmizi
\nHakim, an expert on thoracic and cardiovascular surgery.<\/p>\n
The lack of treatment, according to Hadiarto, is mainly owing
\nto patients' inability to afford the cost since patients are
\ngenerally from poor families.<\/p>\n
Citing an example, he said that for six-months treatment of
\ntuberculosis, a patient must pay between Rp 100,000 (US$42.50)
\nand Rp 200,000 at government-owned community health centers.<\/p>\n
\"But if the sufferer goes to a private practitioner he has to
\npay four to five times more,\" Hadiarto said.<\/p>\n
According to Hadiarto, about 50 percent of patients undergoing
\ntherapy stop the treatment for different reasons.<\/p>\n
According to 1992 official data, there were about 500,000
\npeople suffering contagious tuberculosis and another 1,000,000
\nnon-contagious tuberculosis patients throughout Indonesia. (31)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/tuberculosis-remains-number-two-killer-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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