Officiating at the launch of the two guidelines in Kampala today, the health minister reminds the health practitioners that these guidelines are fully and clearly prescribing the basic treatment a health worker should use while proving health care to a patient which adds on to their already acquired knowledge from medical school and cautions them not to shelve the guidelines.

Dr. Ruth Aceng

The assistant commission pharmacy in the health ministry, Dr.Seru Morris adds that the two guidelines are having new disease guides which were not included in the old edition among them being, TB, Diabetes, Sickle cells, Monopoles, prostate, nutrition, nodding disease among other non communicable diseases and their respective treatment guidelines and at which health center levels.

But the end users of these guidelines at the respective health facilities now recommend that govt ensures that the information in the guidelines is well disseminated to health workers and officers across the country for effective use if health service provision is to improve,explains Ivan Kamya. 

The two guidelines which are to be distributed to govt and private health facilities, training schools, respective health practitioners associations are geared towards promoting high quality health care by guiding health medicine supplies, equipment supplies as used for treatment.

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When a person with TB is left untreated, s/he spreads the bacteria to about 10-15 more people in a year. If s/he isn’t treated, he dies in two year.

Coughing, sneezing, laughing and spitting without covering the mouth releases millions of bacteria which other people may breathe in and get infected.

TB can however get cured or reduced if the person is outdoors because sunshine kills the bacteria. Smoking and air pollution decrease the lungs defence and make people more vulnerable to TB.

There are two different types of TB: that is pylmonary TB- the commonest type of TB. It affects, affects the lungs. The other one is Extra-pulmonary that affect other body parts than lungs.

This type is becoming more common, especially due to the HIV/AIDS surge. It also affects other body parts including de lymphnides, the digestive system, the bladder and the reproductive system.  There is also a type of Zoonotic TB (bovine Tb) that can be transmitted from livestock to humans through drinking unboiled milk and unboiled milk products from infected animals. Also note it better that TB is contagious and spread through the air after a person with the disease has coughed, sneezed, talked or spat.

Ends

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Uganda is experiencing TB drugs but the National Resistance Movement government is planning to import the TB drugs in September. Today is March 15, 2012. We don’t know whether TB patients will not have died by September. Currently most hospitals in Uganda have run out of drugs.

The minister for Health, Christine Ondoa has told a press conference in Kampala this morning that the Government has earmarked 4 billion shillings to procure TB drugs starting with the month of September.

Ondoa says that the government is planning to distribute the drugs once imported to both private and government aided health centers across the country. TB is still one of the major causes of death in Uganda and Africa in general. Uganda registers, according to the ministry of health 330 per 1000 patients who report at the hospitals.

Uganda also experiences inadequate supply of fluorescent microscopes used in laboratories. The few microscopes the country has were procured a few years back by Global Fund grants.

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