2023-05-28 09:14:33
In 2022, we identified 373 cases of tuberculosis across the wilaya, including 90 cases recorded at the level of specialized units in the city of Béjaïa, according to a DSP official.
Relegated to the background by the emergence of non-communicable diseases resulting from the epidemiological transition, then overshadowed by the Covid-19 pandemic, tuberculosis nevertheless remains an endemic disease in the wilaya of Béjaïa and other regions of the country. Nevertheless, the efforts made by the public authorities, in terms of prophylaxis against this pathology, which features prominently in the expanded vaccination program, has significantly reduced its incidence.
“We have identified, during the year 2022, 373 cases of tuberculosis through the wilaya of Béjaïa, including 90 cases recorded at the level of the specialized unit of the city of Béjaïa, which includes four municipalities, namely Béjaïa, Toudja, Tala Hamza and Boukhelifa»told us an official of the Department of Health and Population (DSP), while revealing that the incidence of this contagious disease is only 36 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
“For several decades, the incidence of tuberculosis has been on a downward trajectory. We have also noted the collapse of mortality cases which fall under the exception”, he said. According to our source, the improvement in the epidemiological situation is the result of the importance given to infant vaccination coverage, as well as accessibility to treatment. Indeed, prophylaxis, as much as the medical care of declared cases are the responsibility of the State.
A doctor working in a unit for the control and treatment of respiratory diseases (UCTMR), informed us that only 10% of people infected with Mycobacterium Tuberculosis, the pathogen of tuberculosis, develop the disease. “Only patients whose bacteriological examination reveals a positive microscopy are subjected to antibiotic treatment, which has been reduced from 18 to 6 months. As for asymptomatic cases, they do not require any treatment, because they present no risk, neither for themselves nor for those around them.he explained.
Our interlocutor also pointed out that for two decades, extra-pulmonary tuberculosis (EPT) has taken precedence over pulmonary tuberculosis (PT). “Nearly 70% of diagnosed cases are PET, with more frequent localization of the disease in the lymph nodes, brain and bone”, he will say. The practitioner did not fail to warn against human contamination by a strain of the bacterium present in cattle. “Vaccination of livestock can limit the spread of tuberculosis. However, unvaccinated cattle are likely to directly infect farmers and contaminate consumers of unpasteurized raw milk.he warned.
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