Coughing up blood due to tuberculosis is even considered to be abused

Liputan6.com, Jakarta – You may already be familiar with Tuberculosis (TBC). A condition experienced by around 824 thousand Indonesians according to data Global Tuberculosis Report 2021.

One of the symptoms experienced by TB patients is: coughing up blood. However, in Indonesia, some people actually think it is caused by witchcraft.

This was conveyed by the Secretary of the Directorate General of Public Health of the Ministry of Health (Kemenkes), Dr. Siti Nadia Tarmizi.

Nadia revealed that people’s misconceptions about TB are one of the causes of the difficulty in handling TB in Indonesia.

“The difficulty with TB is, of course, one thing, there is still a stigma that people suffer from tuberculosis, it’s a shameful disease,” said Nadia at a press conference. The 1st G20 Health Working Group (HWG) written Thursday, (24/3/2022).

“Secondly, for example, if TB then coughs up blood, it’s often considered a curse or sorcery,” he added.

Moreover, it is this public perception that makes it difficult for some TB patients to access health services.

“So the perceptions that are still wrong in the community then become an obstacle for the community to access treatment services,” said Nadia.

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