TB in Mozambican children: Improved diagnosis increases concern
About 9,500 children have been registered as suffering from tuberculosis in Mozambique in the last twelve months, compared to about 6,000 recorded in 2015.
According to Ivan Manhiça, director of the National
Tuberculosis Control Program at the Ministry of Health, this is
a result of improving diagnostic capacity, as well as the growth
of the disease in the general population.
“At
this stage, the increase is not a problem, because we still have
many cases going unreported. And the more we identify, the
better, because we will treat more children,” he says,
adding that the level of paediatric tuberculosis in Mozambique
is still within the 10 to 15 percent of total TB cases
considered normal by the World Health Organisation,
He
acknowledges however that the situation in children is worrying,
considering that, if not treated properly, tuberculosis can lead
to death or compromise respiratory and motor function. Last
year, 380 children died of tuberculosis in the country.
Speaking
at the first workshop on paediatric tuberculosis, an event
recently held in Maputo, Manhiça said that one of the
challenges in combating the disease is improving contact
screening, followed by diagnosing and treating sufferers so as
to prevent transmission of the disease, particularly to
children.
“Mozambique is among the 30 countries
with the highest tuberculosis rates in the world. We think that
the number of children reported is below the actual figure. Most
of our cases are recorded in children over five years of age,
but the literature says that most cases should be in children
under five. It means that we are underestimating cases of
children under five who are the ones who spend more time with
adults, parents, grandparents, uncles, nannies, and are more
exposed to contact,” he explained.
To combat
the disease, the health sector vaccinates children and offers
preventive treatment, among other measures. In addition, it is
training Maternal and Child Health nurses and general
practitioners to screen, diagnose and treat tuberculosis in
children.
The workshop brought together
paediatricians, provincial medical doctors and health
professionals working in the field of tuberculosis with the aim
of reviewing the paediatric TB situation in the country.
Source:
Club of Mozambique
