The county recorded 2,580 cases last year, an increase from the 1,902 cases that were recorded in 2021 and 1,646 in 2020.
The county TB and leprosy coordinator Lucy Irungu expressed concerns that the number is the highest the county has recorded since 2012.
She said 25 patients were diagnosed with drug-resistant TB last year, that she said can easily cause loss of life.
The worst affected subcounty, she noted, was Murang’a South with 534 patients while Kiharu followed 442 cases.
This year alone, Irungu confirmed that 276 residents have been diagnosed with the disease, 25 among them being children, majority of whom are below five years of age which has been attributed to low immunity among infants.
“Some of the patients visited health facilities with flu-like symptoms and were confirmed to be having tuberculosis after testing,” she said.
Irungu blamed the high prevalence on the effects of Covid-19 saying many patients kept off health facilities when the pandemic was at its peak.
The disease, she added, is highly contagious as it is airborne, and that many patients currently visiting hospitals with coughing symptoms are being diagnosed with the disease.
She however noted that the county government is doing everything possible to fight the surge of TB infections in the county. She said four molecular diagnostic centres have been established at Murang’a County Referral, Maragua Rural, Muriranjas and Kirwara hospitals.
This, she said, has eased diagnosis of the disease with microscopy TB testing being carried out in 122 medical facilities within the county.
“We have also started conducting free chest x-rays for children aged below 15 years to ensure they are treated early if they are confirmed to be infected.”
Each subcounty has also been allocated a motorcycle that helps to collect samples for testing while all public, faith-based and some private health facilities have been provided with anti-TB drugs.
Irungu appealed to residents to ensure they visit a medical facility as soon as they develop symptoms such as coughing, excessive night sweating, and unintentional loss of weight, symptoms which are the most common for tuberculosis.
She cautioned parents to take notice of unending coughs or flu or dullness in their children and take them for a medical check-up.
Patients diagnosed with the disease should strictly follow medical instructions to successfully complete their treatment, she said.
She said management of the disease is often hindered by late diagnosis and the failure by patients to adhere to their treatment plan.
The coordinator cautioned patients to ensure they complete their dosage failure to which the disease could become drugs resistant which is costly to treat and can cause death.
“Treating drug-resistant tuberculosis is very costly for both the patient and the government and takes a long time,” she said.
According to Centre for Health Solutions, a non-profit organisation that implements evidence-based interventions to existing and emerging public health needs, Tuberculosis is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in Kenya.
The disease affects all age groups with affected households facing catastrophic costs with the highest burden being among between the ages of 25 to 44 years.
With 40 per cent to 50 per cent of TB cases being missed in the country, undiagnosed patients continue to transmit the disease in the community and are diagnosed when it has advanced.
-Edited by SKanyara
