Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis remains one of the leading causes of death in the world, with one new infection occurring per second, two million deaths and nine million new cases of disease annually. In addition, tuberculosis remains the leading cause of death in patients living with HIV/AIDS.  In 2008, there were an estimated 1.4 million new cases of TB among persons with HIV infection and TB accounted for 23% of AIDS-related deaths. (WHO)  More than 10% of patients infected with HIV are also infected with tuberculosis. If not diagnosed and treated promptly, tuberculosis may be spread via an airborne route to family and community members. Untreated, someone with active tuberculosis will infect an estimated 10 to 15 people per year.(UNAIDS) 

Most tuberculosis is curable, but the disease must be diagnosed early and patients with the disease must be started on therapy. Utilizing aggressive screening protocols and "cough monitors", lay persons trained to mobilize communities and facilitate TB diagnosis in communities, we intend to control the tuberculosis in all of the AMPATH service delivery areas.

By April of this year, over 75,000 symptomatic patients were screened for TB with an average 12% testing smear positive.  AMPATH tests patients visiting the HIV clinic, as well as people in the community identified by cough monitors and with the introduction of the home-based counseling and testing program, counselors now go door-to-door to test communities for both HIV and TB.

With the advent of Multidrug Resistant (MDR) TB, AMPATH has now created a community-based treatment program, funded in part by the Kenyan Division of Leprosy, TB, and Lung Disease.  AMPATH is also working with the Lilly MDR-TB Partnership, which allows programs like AMPATH to offer it patients with MDR-TB access to key MDR-TB drugs.