On Monday, South African Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang stressed the urgent need to eliminate tuberculosis in the country. Speaking in Bloemfontein to mark World TB Day, the minister called for early diagnosis and appropriate treatment and emphasized that TB was curable. "Treating and curing TB at first signs prevents its spread, averts death and reduces the burden TB patients place on the health care system," she said.

Outlining a campaign to achieve this, Tshabalala-Msimang said that TB was an opportunistic infection and the most frequent cause of death in people living with HIV in Africa. She said that no inroads would be made in the fight against the killer lung disease without addressing the HIV/AIDS problem. Tshabalala-Msimang said that the government would provide a comprehensive package for TB/HIV/AIDS prevention, care and support at the district level.

Also marking World TB Day, Archbishop Desmond Tutu -- patron of the international campaign to combat TB -- stressed the importance of completing the treatment course. TB patients often discontinue the rigorous eight-month treatment course once they feel better. They may suffer a relapse, often resulting in death. Tutu reinforced the message that TB was curable and urged the public to be aware of early signs of the infection.

Sixty-six percent of the South African population of 44 million is infected with dormant TB, while 12,000 develop symptoms of the disease every year, according to the South African Press Association. The country's TB fatality rate is 166 per 100,000 people, five times higher than the world's TB fatality rate at 32 per 100,000 people. TB cases are expected to rise due to the spread of HIV/AIDS. It is estimated that 50 percent of TB patients in the country are also infected with HIV and that of 4.7-million HIV-positive South Africans, 1.6 million will contract TB.

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