Health authorities have confirmed a TB outbreak among a homeless settlement at North Beach, Durban, where nearly 200 people living in tents tested positive for the disease, reports Health-e News.
The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health immediately deployed screening teams to the site to test residents and begin treatment for those testing positive. Contact tracing is also under way to limit further spread of the infectious disease, officials said.
One of the camp residents, Sandile Zulu (24), described overcrowded conditions that make infection control difficult.
“There are many people coughing. We sleep in one tent with about 100 people, so it is easy for TB to spread in this environment,” he told Health-e News.
“Most of us go out daily to beg for food, so there is a real possibility that the infection could spread to the surrounding community,” he added.
Department spokesperson Ntokozo Maphisa said TB was a significant public health concern and that they were highlighting the need for people to finish their treatment.
“Incomplete treatment can lead to drug-resistant forms of the disease, which are more severe,” Maphisa added.
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