Busia: Busia County Department of Health, in collaboration with Impact Research Organization, has embarked on a three-day cross-border tuberculosis (TB) screening initiative aimed at improving the identification of TB cases, which have been challenging to detect effectively.
According to Kenya News Agency, Mary Aseyong, the TB and Leprosy Coordinator for Busia County, emphasized the presence of undiscovered TB cases, highlighting the significance of the cross-border screening in uncovering these cases. “Our TB case burden is at 1381 cases for 2024, translating to a case notification rate of 138 TB per 100,000 people. This is still low, indicating that we are not performing well as a county in terms of case notification. The country’s expected case notification rate for TB is 426 per 100,000 people, which means we are still missing out on a significant number of TB patients,” she stated.
Aseyong pointed out that the TB mortality rate remains high at 7.5 percent, compared to the expected treatment success rate of 3 percent. She expressed the county’s target to treat 92 percent of diagnosed cases, although the current treatment success rate stands at 86.5 percent, falling short of the desired target. She further stressed the importance of early diagnosis through community-based active case finding, noting that early identification and treatment initiation would enhance the chances of successful treatment outcomes.
Busia County Chief Officer for Public Health and Sanitation, Susan Outa, remarked on the effectiveness of the cross-border screening in identifying TB cases within the county. She shared, “From our last year’s cases, 4 percent were identified through the cross-border screening conducted at the border. We chose the border due to the mobile population and the unique health-seeking behaviors of people passing through. Those found positive with TB will be placed on anti-TB treatment.”
The initiative is aligned with the National Strategic Plan for Tuberculosis, Leprosy, and Lung Health 2023/2024-2027/28, which aims to eliminate TB in the country by 2030.