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A rollercoaster battle against tuberculosis
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Paran Saramita. (-/Priska Siagian.)
A
s a tropical country with abundant sunshine, one would think Indonesia would not have any problems with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacteria that causes tuberculosis (TB), as sunshine is supposed to kill it.
However, according to a recent global report by the World Health Organization (WHO), Indonesia ranks third for the highest number of TB patients in the world after India and China.
TB is an airborne disease, and, therefore, spreads very easily. When a TB sufferer coughs, sneezes or spits, they propel the bacteria into the air, and through this medium it can infect others in the area. On the other hand, this disease is also very easy to cure with proper treatment.
“Patients just need to take the medication exactly as prescribed,” Erlina Burhan, a pulmonologist and TB expert from Persahabatan Hospital, said during a recent workshop on the disease.
However, in some cases, receiving proper treatment might not be enough, as cases of TB can have various drug-resistant levels. Drug-resistant types of TB range from mono resistant to multi-drug resistant (MDR) to extensively drug resistant and totally drug resistant.
The most dangerous type of TB is MDR TB, because this means the bacteria are resistant to the two main drugs commonly used in treatment.
