BabuK
JF-Expert Member
- Jul 30, 2008
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Tells patients that they are under no risk
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry Blandina Nyoni
The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare has admitted that two of the five essential drugs administered daily to tuberculosis patients for a period of 18 to 24 months were out of stock.
The admission follows revelation by The Guardian that the national Tuberculosis Hospital, Kibong'oto in Kilimanjaro Region was short of drugs to treat multidrug resistant tuberculosis.
A statement issued which was signed by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry Blandina Nyoni said the treatment of MDR-TB patients was suspended on November 8 this year when the stock of two of the five essential drugs was exhausted.
"This was caused by delay in receiving the consignment of MDR-TB drugs from manufacturers, initially expected last month," said the Ministry.
According to the statement MDR-TB is treated with a combination of five essential drugs which are administered daily to patients for a period of 18 -24 months.
The ministry said that Tanzania's share of the drugs was expected to arrive in the country by October this year. "This delay is beyond the country's control due to the fact that there are only 2 companies worldwide that manufacture the drugs. This is coupled by the high demand from various countries in the world including Tanzania," it said, promising that the consignment is now expected to arrive by air this week and will be sent immediately to Kibong'oto hospital.
According to authoritative reports reaching this paper over the last few days, some patients on the multi-drug therapy have fled the decades-old hospital owing to the chronic non-availability of the relevant drugs and related services.
One of the female patients admitted to the facility hospital for several months now but who sought strict anonymity "for my safety" intimated to this paper in a telephone interview on Friday that they have not received any medication since Tuesday and were always told point-blank that the appropriate drugs were out of stock.
However according to the ministry the decision to stop treatment was reached
following consultation between a panel of doctors providing MDR-TB service at Kibong'oto hospital together with supervisors from the Ministry and experts from the University of San Francisco, California, United States of America.
"They unanimously agreed that the remaining 3 drugs could not make an effective regimen to treat MDR-TB patients and that continuing treatment could lead to creation of resistance to the remaining drugs," said part of the statement.
It further said the panel had agreed that stopping the said treatment regimen did not pose additional danger to the patients since most of them had already converted to non-infectious status.
When called on how she feels after hearing that the government was sending them the drugs, she said they had sought explanation from the hospital management on the reasons for not telling them the truth about the shortage of medicine.
She said they were told that they (management) feared to reveal the information because they didn't know how the patients would have reacted.
The source told this paper that the management had placed them under great risk because they are always told that if they skip a dose even for one day they risk their lives.
"I for example I have gone through the three stages and I am negative. I have taken the drugs for five months now and if I skip a dose it means that I risk having TB II which is dangerous," she said.
In its statement, the Ministry explained that there was no risk to the patients' health as well as to the people around them because they were no longer coughing TB germs and thus the risk of spreading them to the surrounding environment was very low.
Currently, at Kibong'oto hospital there are 27 MDR-TB patients who are undergoing the first phase of treatment which takes 6 – 8 months.
An earlier group of 39 patients had already completed this phase and was discharged to continue with treatment under supervision of the district hospital or nearest health centre.
MDR-TB drugs for this group of patients are available and treatment is provided free of charge for the whole period.
Initially, Tanzania had received a permit to procure MDR-TB drugs for 50 patients only per year from World Health Organisation (WHO), who oversee quality of these drugs worldwide, but it has now can procure drugs for up to 150 patients.
It said the drugs are ordered every six months to avoid their expiry while still on the shelf.
The Ministry said it recognized the importance of continuing providing correct and quality treatment according to national and international standards.
The ministry said all necessary measures have been taken to ensure that MDR-TB services are reinstated as soon as the drugs are available, apologizing to the patients for the inconvenience caused as a result of the shortage.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry Blandina Nyoni
The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare has admitted that two of the five essential drugs administered daily to tuberculosis patients for a period of 18 to 24 months were out of stock.
The admission follows revelation by The Guardian that the national Tuberculosis Hospital, Kibong'oto in Kilimanjaro Region was short of drugs to treat multidrug resistant tuberculosis.
A statement issued which was signed by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry Blandina Nyoni said the treatment of MDR-TB patients was suspended on November 8 this year when the stock of two of the five essential drugs was exhausted.
"This was caused by delay in receiving the consignment of MDR-TB drugs from manufacturers, initially expected last month," said the Ministry.
According to the statement MDR-TB is treated with a combination of five essential drugs which are administered daily to patients for a period of 18 -24 months.
The ministry said that Tanzania's share of the drugs was expected to arrive in the country by October this year. "This delay is beyond the country's control due to the fact that there are only 2 companies worldwide that manufacture the drugs. This is coupled by the high demand from various countries in the world including Tanzania," it said, promising that the consignment is now expected to arrive by air this week and will be sent immediately to Kibong'oto hospital.
According to authoritative reports reaching this paper over the last few days, some patients on the multi-drug therapy have fled the decades-old hospital owing to the chronic non-availability of the relevant drugs and related services.
One of the female patients admitted to the facility hospital for several months now but who sought strict anonymity "for my safety" intimated to this paper in a telephone interview on Friday that they have not received any medication since Tuesday and were always told point-blank that the appropriate drugs were out of stock.
However according to the ministry the decision to stop treatment was reached
following consultation between a panel of doctors providing MDR-TB service at Kibong'oto hospital together with supervisors from the Ministry and experts from the University of San Francisco, California, United States of America.
"They unanimously agreed that the remaining 3 drugs could not make an effective regimen to treat MDR-TB patients and that continuing treatment could lead to creation of resistance to the remaining drugs," said part of the statement.
It further said the panel had agreed that stopping the said treatment regimen did not pose additional danger to the patients since most of them had already converted to non-infectious status.
When called on how she feels after hearing that the government was sending them the drugs, she said they had sought explanation from the hospital management on the reasons for not telling them the truth about the shortage of medicine.
She said they were told that they (management) feared to reveal the information because they didn't know how the patients would have reacted.
The source told this paper that the management had placed them under great risk because they are always told that if they skip a dose even for one day they risk their lives.
"I for example I have gone through the three stages and I am negative. I have taken the drugs for five months now and if I skip a dose it means that I risk having TB II which is dangerous," she said.
In its statement, the Ministry explained that there was no risk to the patients' health as well as to the people around them because they were no longer coughing TB germs and thus the risk of spreading them to the surrounding environment was very low.
Currently, at Kibong'oto hospital there are 27 MDR-TB patients who are undergoing the first phase of treatment which takes 6 – 8 months.
An earlier group of 39 patients had already completed this phase and was discharged to continue with treatment under supervision of the district hospital or nearest health centre.
MDR-TB drugs for this group of patients are available and treatment is provided free of charge for the whole period.
Initially, Tanzania had received a permit to procure MDR-TB drugs for 50 patients only per year from World Health Organisation (WHO), who oversee quality of these drugs worldwide, but it has now can procure drugs for up to 150 patients.
It said the drugs are ordered every six months to avoid their expiry while still on the shelf.
The Ministry said it recognized the importance of continuing providing correct and quality treatment according to national and international standards.
The ministry said all necessary measures have been taken to ensure that MDR-TB services are reinstated as soon as the drugs are available, apologizing to the patients for the inconvenience caused as a result of the shortage.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
