Indonesia third in tuberculosis cases in the world
Indonesia third in tuberculosis cases in the world
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia is third in the world in number of
tuberculosis patients with over 583,000 recorded infections last
year, of which 140,000 died.
"From the contagious diseases group, tuberculosis is the
primary cause of death in the country," Minister of Health Achmad
Sujudi told reporters here on Tuesday.
"Around 400 people die of the disease every day," he added.
The minister said East Nusa Tenggara is the province most
prone to tuberculosis.
Sujudi could not give an estimate of the total number of
people infected with the disease saying that it was a colossal
task to record it for the whole country.
He emphasized that there had been a marked increase in
tuberculosis since 1997 in conjunction with the spread of the
Human Immune-deficiency Virus (HIV).
Sujudi explained that HIV stimulates the onset of the
tuberculosis germ which is already in the human body.
"Almost one-third of all people have the potential to be
infected," Sujudi said adding that between 10 to 15 people are
prone to be infected by each individual tuberculosis sufferer.
He said data from last year's patients indicate that around 70
percent of those infected were working age. Even those who
recovered needed three or four months before they could resume
working.
According to Sujudi, translated into monetary figures, lost
productivity due to tuberculosis has cost the country 20 to 30
percent of annual household income.
"Realizing the magnitude of the problem, the government is
committed to allocating a substantial amount of the state budget
to fight the disease and join an international network to stop
tuberculosis," he added.
Chief of the National Development Planning Agency, Djunaidi
Hadisumarto, said 16.9 billion (US$2.4 million) has been
earmarked in the 2000 budget for free tuberculosis medication.
"The fund was allocated because almost 60 percent of people
with tuberculosis are poor people," Djunaidi said, adding that
the government also planned to provide free tuberculosis testing
and training for medical staff to treat the disease.
Sujudi also noted that his office will assist the
implementation of the Direct Observation Treatment Short Course
(DOTS) strategy for people with tuberculosis.
The strategy employs a strict regimen of medication for an
uninterrupted six-month period.
DOTS has proved an effective cure with a success rate of 85
percent.
"To provide close observation, we will increase the number of
community health centers (Puskesmas) that can treat the disease.
So far, only 51 percent of the 7,500 Puskesmas across the country
can provide such a service," Sujudi said.
Indonesia actually adopted the strategy in 1995 but so far
only 30 percent of tuberculosis patients are being treated with
it.
The government has set a target of treating 70 percent of all
tuberculosis patients by the year 2005.
"Our main problem is to find the people with the disease,
that's why people should know that we are giving free medication
for treatment," Sujudi said. (dja)