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Jakarta Post

Tuberculosis cases remain high in Denpasar

I Ketut Wiana, 62, looked weak and pale

Wasti Atmodjo (The Jakarta Post)
Denpasar
Wed, April 8, 2009

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Tuberculosis cases remain high in Denpasar

I

Ketut Wiana, 62, looked weak and pale. He was visiting a community health center in Peguyangan village near Denpasar for his routine physical examination and treatment.

Wiana was diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB), an infectious disease commonly found in developing countries like Indonesia.

TB is caused by mycobacteria in humans. TB usually attacks the lungs, bone joints and the central nervous system. It spreads through the air, when people who have the disease cough, sneeze, or spit.

IGN Wibawa, chairman of the Bali chapter of the Indonesian Association of Tuberculosis Prevention Program, met with Wiana and told him to continue treatment.

"You have to regularly examine your condition and take the health center's medicine until the doctor confirms you are completely free from TB," Wibawa said.

Treating TB is difficult and complicated, he said. It requires regular counseling and continuous medication, which is often too costly for a patient like Wiana.

"At first, I suffered from chronic coughing. I also drastically lost weight. Then I went to a general practitioner to carry out medical checkups," Wiana said.

The doctor did not diagnosis Wiana with TB.

"He kept giving me medicine and it cost me at least Rp 750,000 per visit, a huge cost for a retired man like myself."

Wiana could no longer visit the doctor due to the cost.

"I went to a dukun *local healer* but it also did not work. My condition worsened."

He finally learned Denpasar's health centers were organizing a free medication package for impo-verished TB patients living in the municipality.

"The free package includes medication, vaccination and regular check-ups as well as monitoring the patients for six months," Wibawa said.

Wibawa said there were 178 known TB patients in Denpasar,

"They are those who voluntarily visit the health centers and joined our program. We do not know the precise number of undetected sufferers."

A report revealed there were an estimated 3,000 TB sufferers in Bali.

"We encourage people to lead healthy lifestyles and to take care of their personal hygiene," Wibawa said.

To monitor the participating TB patients, officials from the association and health centers will visit homes of the patients twice a week to ensure they take proper medication.

The patients' families are also asked to participate in the program.

TB is the world's most serious health problem. In 2004, there were 14.6 million cases with 8.9 million new cases and 1.6 million deaths, mainly in developing countries. The new infections occur at a rate of one per second.

Denpasar has the most TB cases in the province.

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