800 patients treated for TB at UTH – official
By Charles Musonda
ENDING tuberculosis is not our reach but it is possible only if we work together with determination, innovation and unity, University Teaching Hospital (UTH) senior medical superintendent Dr Charles Mbewe has said.
Dr Mbewe said last year the UTH adult hospital treated 801 patients with drug susceptible TB and 16 patients with drug-resistant TB.
“These numbers are not just figures; they represent lives, families and communities touched by TB. They remind us that while progress is being made, the fight is far from over,” he said.
“Globally, TB remains one of the leading infectious killer diseases, claiming over a million lives each year. Yet Zambia has shown that leadership, innovation and community power can make a difference,”
Dr Mbewe said.
He said this during the commemoration of the World TB Day in Lusaka. UTH consultant-internal medicine TB specialist Dr Patrick Lungu said through the dedication of its teams, the hospital had helped improve treatment success rates for drug- susceptible TB from around 80 per cent to above 90 per cent.
Dr Lungu said for drug-resistant TB, treatment success has increased from about 33 per cent to nearly 60 per cent – almost twice its baseline. “Behind each statistic is a life saved, a family protected, and a community made safer. Beyond patient care, UTH has also contributed to the development of national TB guidelines, provided technical support, and helped introduce initiatives that have later become part of the national TB agenda,” Dr Lungu said.
