Mfuleni clinic conducted HIV and TB testing and shared valuable information about the diseases on Friday March 23, as part of their Tuberculosis (TB) Awareness Month activities.
More than 300 residents were tested on the day, 200 short of the targeted number.
Chantel Robertson, sister at the clinic, said despite the progress made to curb the spread of the disease, TB still affected many communities.
She said many people lived with the disease and were co-infected with HIV.
She said some people were not well informed about TB although it was completely curable.
“Our focus today is on educating people about TB. We could not talk about TB (without talking about) HIV. This is the day that we thought we should test and screen and educate the residents of our area,” she said.
“We aimed to have 500 residents, but we fell a bit short. However, we are happy they came in numbers. We want them to know that TB is curable even if you have HIV. We also want to urge and appeal to those who are infected to take their treatment every day.”
Ms Robertson said TB continued to claim people’s lives because it hid itself.
She encouraged people to visit health care facilities in their respective areas to seek help and get tested.
“We also encourage those who are HIV-infected to also check their TB status. It is very important that if you have HIV you must test for TB. We want to strive to beat the disease in Mfuleni,” she said.
Ms Robertson urged those infected not to default on their treatment.
She said normally TB takes six to nine months to treat.
Mfuleni resident, Mabhuduza Dlayedwa, said he heard through the grapevine that people would be tested for many diseases.
“I decided to be part of the event and get tested. From what I have gathered here, these people are working hard to convince us. Hats off to them for what they do for the community of Mfuleni,” he told Vukani.
