Health around the week

According to the Global Tuberculosis Report 2014, about 1.5 million people died of tuberculosis last year, including 360,000 who had HIV. In 2013, nine million people developed TB around the world, an increase from 8.6 million in 2012 where 1.3 succumbed to the acid forming bacteria. Cases of TB had declined by 45 per cent since 1990, with 1.5 per cent decline being manifested annually. Three million people however had undiagnosed tuberculosis and these missed out on treatment. With Africa still leading in TB infections, 5 per cent of cases globally were found to be drug resistant. What is far awful is that extensively drug-resistant TB, which is even more difficult to treat than drug-resistant TB, has been reported in 100 countries. But as TB reports give health experts more thoughts to ponder, medics are not resting, so are governments and other stakeholders in the fight against Ebola scourge. The Ministry of Health has trained a total of 3,430 health workers to handle the virus in case of an outbreak. Other preventive measures include a fully-fledged Ebola ward at Rwandan Military Hospital, Kanombe, screening facilities, health personnel at all entry points into the country, as well as isolation facilities. To further seal this, the ministry also announced new screening procedures for anyone arriving in the country from the US or Spain because the two countries have registered Ebola cases recently. The rule applies regardless of whether one shows Ebola-like symptoms for a passenger who has been in either of the two countries in the last 22 days. Also a person is required to self-monitor, fill out an extensive questionnaire and report their medical condition for the first 21 days over Ebola fears. The ministry has still called on the public and health practitioners to use a pyramid of approaches in the fight against breast cancer during a national symposium on breast cancer. Away from Ebola, breast cancer consumes more lives of women than any other cancer but increasing awareness, early screening could provide relief from this dreadful killer, experts at a symposium on breast disease said.