TheJakartaPost

Please Update your browser

Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.

Jakarta Post

Indonesia struggles to tackle drug-resistant tuberculosis

Treating drug-resistant tuberculosis takes longer and is more costly.

Gemma Holliani Cahya (The Jakarta Post)
Premium
Jakarta
Sun, July 21, 2019

Share This Article

Change Size

Indonesia struggles to tackle drug-resistant tuberculosis Tuberculosis remains a major public health concern in WHO Southeast Asia member countries. (Kompas.com/File)

W

ith the rising threat of drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB), Indonesia, a country with third largest number of cases, is finding itself in a tough spot to combat the disease.  

Despite the country having provided medication for all kinds of tuberculosis for free, many patients have their treatment cut halfway as they become resistant to the drugs and recovery becomes more problematic.  

Treatment for DR-TB is more difficult than regular TB as it requires different drugs –which are more costly and have stronger side effects. The treatment also takes longer—the drugs must be taken for up to two years, compared to the six months in regular TB cases. 

“According to the most recent data from the Health Ministry, it is predicted that we have around 12,000 DR-TB cases per year. But only around 8,800 could be diagnosed. And only 75 percent of the diagnosed patients are fully treated,” Erlina Burhan, a pulmonologist from Persahabatan Hospital in East Jakarta told The Jakarta Post on Friday. 

She said most of the DR-TB patients are TB patients who do not finish their six-month treatment or are not disciplined in taking their daily drugs during treatment. The TB bacteria get stronger and become resistant to the drugs. 

DR-TB is the only airborne drug-resistant epidemic in the world and responsible for nearly one-third of all deaths from antimicrobial resistance globally. Indonesia is third with the most TB cases, after India and China.

Treating DR-TB is very costly. Erlina said a patient with regular TB has to spend around Rp 1.2 million (US$86.20) for medication until they are healed. DR-TB patients need more kinds of drugs - more expensive ones and also daily injections. 

to Read Full Story

We accept

TJP - Visa
TJP - Mastercard
TJP - GoPay
{

Your Opinion Counts

Your thoughts matter - share your experiences, suggestions, and any issues you've encountered on The Jakarta Post. We're here to listen.

Enter at least 30 characters
0 / 30

Thank You

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We appreciate your feedback.