Luanda - At least 28,701 cases of tuberculosis were diagnosed in 2024 in the Angolan capital, Luanda, the local health director, Fernando Varela said on Monday.
Among the diagnosed cases, the doctor said there were 10,777 from BK (Coconut Bacillus), 13,428 from clinical diagnosis, 959 extrapulmonary, 1,165 from MDR and another 1,109 with HIV infection.
The director gave an interview to ANGOP about March 24, which is considered World Tuberculosis Day, a date that aims to raise public awareness about the global tuberculosis epidemic and the efforts to eliminate this disease.
According to the official, 1, 40 deaths were recorded in this period, which in some cases patients come to the health facilities at an advanced stage or already very weak.
"From January to December 2024 alone, we had a total of 28,701 patients diagnosed," said the official, who did not provide comparative figures for 2023.
Fernando Varela said Luanda has 50 health units that treat tuberculosis, specifically D.O.T. (Direct Observation Treatment) and three others that carry out diagnosis and treatment.
“We had 61 units until 2024, but because of the new Political-Administrative Division (DPA), we now have 50. So we have treatment under direct observation (DOT) and three units that carry out diagnosis and treatment,” he explained.
He also said that the units are spread across the province's municipalities, which are controlled by the Dispensary.
According to the director, Luanda also has some reference units under the supervision of the Ministry of Health, namely the Cardeal Dom Alexandre do Nascimento Hospital Complex, Azancote do Menezes, the São Paulo Prison Hospital and the Military Hospital, which also carry out the diagnosis and have Janusperg.
Fernando Varela added that the Specialized Centre for the Treatment of Endemics and Pandemics (CETEP) has been a great support for the province of Luanda, despite being a national unit, in cases that require hospitalization and differentiated care.
March 24th commemorates the day when the German doctor Robert Koch, in 1882, surprised the scientific community by announcing to a small group of scientists from the Institute of Hygiene at the University of Berlin that he had discovered the cause of tuberculosis, Koch's bacillus, marking a turning point in the history of this infectious human disease.
At the time of Koch's announcement in Berlin, tuberculosis was spreading across Europe and the Americas, causing the death of one in seven people. The discovery paved the way for diagnosing and curing tuberculosis.
In 1982, on the 100th anniversary of Robert Koch's presentation, the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (IUATLD) proposed that March 24th be proclaimed World Tuberculosis Day. The initiative was supported by the World Health Organization (WHO). LDN/OHA/SEC/TED/AMP
