Dr. Jessica Hamuy Blanco warns that stigma and delayed action continue to fuel the spread of TB in South Africa, urging early detection and consistent treatment to curb one of the country’s most persistent health challenges. Picture Credit: Supplied
By Ndivhuwo Mukwevho
South Africa – Although it is curable and preventable, tuberculosis (TB) remains a health burden in South Africa as thousands of South Africans continues to be burdened by the killer virus. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), approximately 249 000 people in the country developed TB in 2024.
But Dr. Jessica Hamuy Blanco, product and clinical risk executive at Dis-Chem, believes that South Africa can end TB by replacing stigma with early action. She told Timeless News that the country faces a clear challenge of turning awareness into early action.
“TB is all around us. Many people don’t realise that exposure is common. The bacteria can lie dormant for years and only become active when the immune system is compromised. Although preventable and curable, TB continues to spread quietly often because symptoms are ignored and treatment is delayed,” says Blanco.
On Tuesday, like other countries on the globe, South Africa observed the World TB Day, aimed at ending stigma against those who are affected by the TB epidemic.
Blanco says that despite widespread awareness, a critical gap remains between what people know about TB and how quickly they act on symptoms.
“This gap continues to shape outcomes for thousands living with this preventable and curable disease. TB continues to spread quietly often because symptoms are ignored and treatment is delayed,” says Blanco.
According to Blanco, in South Africa, people don’t always recognise the signs early to know where to seek help.
“This is where informed, trusted healthcare makes the different. South Africa remains one of the countries hardest hit by TB globally. The disease is closely linked to HIV, with weakened immune systems increasing the risk of TB becoming active. At the same time, socio economic realities such as overcrowding and limited access to healthcare continue to drive transmission,” says Blanco.
Blanco further indicated that delayed diagnosis means individuals remain infectious for longer, placing families and communities at greater risk.
“Detecting TB early remains one of the most effective ways to reduce its spread and improve recovery. Treatment typically involves a six-to-nine month course of antibiotics, with strong success rates when completed. However early symptoms are often missed,” says Blanco.
Some of early symptoms of TB includes; persistent cough, chest pain, coughing up blood, fatigue, fever and night sweats.
According to Blanco, another major barrier to ending TB is interrupted treatment. She says that many patients begin to feel better within weeks and assume they are cured, while others struggle with side effects or the practicalities of repeated clinic visits.
“When treatment is stopped too soon, the bacteria are not fully eliminated. This is how drug-resistant TB develops, which is far more difficult and costly to treat. Accessible healthcare is critical in closing the gap between awareness and action,” says Blanco.
In 2021, in the mist of the Covid-19 pandemic, Zakes Gadisi from Mpheni, outside of Elim, was diagnosed with TB and was immediately placed on treatment by healthcare workers at Elim hospital. His duration was 9-months, but within a period of 4-months, Gadisi had already stopped taking his medication.
“To be honest, I had missed drinking alcohol and I felt that I was healed from the TB but I guess that I was wrong as within few weeks after I had stopped taking my medication, I became terribly ill and I was admitted at Elim hospital for several weeks,” says Gadisi.
Gadisi says that he learnt the hard way, that one must not stop taking their medication, until they are told to do so by a healthcare worker.
“Though I am perfectly fine now, I still regret my decision to abandon my medication and my message to everyone fighting TB at the moment is that they must never give up. Continue taking your medication and everything will be well in due course,” he says.
