175,000 died of TB in Indonesia each year

175,000 died of TB in Indonesia each year

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

At least 175,000 people die from tuberculosis (TB) in
Indonesia each year, primarily due to ignorance and a reluctance
to seek medical treatment, an official said on Thursday.

Ministry of Health medical supervisor for lung disease
eradication Halim Danusantoso said its data showed that the
disease was prevalent in Indonesia with about 500,000 people
being infected by the disease annually.

"The mortality rate of the disease is high because people
infected with the illness are reluctant to visit public health
centers to undergo routine medical treatment," he said at a press
conference held in conjunction with the upcoming World TB Day on
March 24.

Besides being poor, the sufferers were frequently ashamed if
they were found out to have contracted the disease, Halim said.

This condition was worsened by the fact that the health
facilities capable of giving routine medical services were very
limited, he said.

Halim said TB patients could be cured easily within six
months, expressing regret that some patients quit taking the
medication before their disease was completely cured.

Halim urged anyone who suspected they or members of their
family were infected to seek immediate help from the health
centers and sign six-month treatment contracts as the government
in cooperation with the Coalition of Healthy Indonesia provided
free TB drugs.

"The contracts are needed to avoid treatment termination,"
Halim said, adding that the patients quitting the contracts would
be asked to bear the treatment costs.

TB is Indonesia's third-largest killer disease, behind
cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, and ahead of
infections/parasites and diarrhea.

Indonesia had the third largest number of TB cases in the
world behind India and China.

The government, therefore, adopted an integrated anti-TB
program, called Directly Observed Treatment Short-course (DOTS),
following a recommendation from the World Health Organization.
The strategy attempts to provide a complete response, including
identification of infection and treatment.

However, disease rates were still soaring due to limited
publicity surrounding the problem, Communicable Diseases and
Environmental Health director general Umar Fahmi Ahmad said.

He criticized the 6,830 community health centers nationwide as
failing to identify people with TB.