After one-month treatment, patients with TB turn negative
After one-month treatment, patients with TB turn negative
Sari P. Setiogi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
People with tuberculosis (TB) can safely return to work with two
weeks or a month of beginning treatment, a pulmonologist said.
Tjandra Yoga Aditama of the Persahabatan General Hospital in
Rawamangun, East Jakarta, said many TB patients were not allowed
to return to their workplaces until they had completed nine
months of medical treatment. He said this requirement was
unnecessary and the result of misinformation.
"After undergoing conventional medical treatment for between
two weeks and one month, workers with TB can be allowed to return
to their workplaces. Physically, they will be able to do their
jobs and the TB bacteria in their bodies will not spread to other
workers," he told The Jakarta Post on the sidelines of a seminar
on TB and the workplace. The seminar was organized by the
Indonesian Association for the Eradication of Tuberculosis (PPTI)
here on Friday.
Tjandra said it was unfortunate many doctors recommended that
TB patients not return to work before completing nine months of
treatment. He also said many members of the public were under the
false impression that TB sufferers must be avoided or isolated to
prevent them from infecting others.
"The public should know that workers with TB should be allowed
to work while completing their treatment," he said, adding that
lab tests showed TB patients no longer posed a danger to others
after a month of treatment.
Several corporate doctors attending the seminar suggested the
medicine for TB patients be kept at their respective offices.
"It would be easier for doctors to control the medication
process because workers go to the office every day," said a
doctor.
Tuberculosis patients must take medication regularly for six
months, even though in most cases patients feel better in two or
three months.
"If the medication is not finished, a patient could become
even sicker. The TB bacteria in his or her body might become even
more difficult to fight," the chairwoman of the PPTI, Ratih
Siswono Yudhohusodo, told the Post.
Another concern is discriminatory hiring practices, "since
most companies will reject applicants with TB clots on their X-
ray results", Tjandra said.
People who have suffered from TB in the past might still show
clots in their lung X-rays, and it would be unfair for these
people to be rejected by companies, he said.
According to the secretary-general of PPTI, H. Soediono, there
are about 583,000 new infections in Indonesia every year, with up
to 140,000 fatalities.
According to the World Health Organization, TB is the third
biggest killer disease in the world, while Indonesia has the
third largest number of TB patients after China and India.
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Tips for employers handling TB cases
(1) Ask any employee suspected of having TB to visit a
pulmonologist
(2) Give your employee leave for about one month, after which he
or she can return to work as usual
(3) Remind your employee to finish his or her medication
(4) Remind your employee to eat healthy foods with lots of
nutrients, though providing the food would be even better
(5) Treat your employee fairly
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