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Myths related to TB that have not been proven true are still circulating in the community.
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GridHealth.ID – In the midst of the current Covid-19 pandemic situation, Indonesia still has to struggle to handle cases tuberculosis (TBC). The number of TB cases in Indonesia is still relatively high.
The World Health Organization (WHO) report entitled Global TB Report WHO 2021 shows that Indonesia is a country with the highest number of patients TBC 3rd largest in the world after China and India.
It is known, there are as many as 824,000 new TB cases per year, with the death rate reaching 98,000 cases or equivalent to 11 deaths per hour in Indonesia.
Unfortunately, the Indonesian people’s understanding of TBC not completely even. The reason is, there is still a lot of wrong information and myths about TB circulating in the community.
Also Read: Beware of tuberculosis, immediately check with a doctor if the cough is more than 14 days
In addition to creating a negative stigma towards TB patients, disinformation and myths often discourage people from going to health facilities. In fact, not a few TB patients feel inferior and ashamed to undergo treatment.
This was conveyed by the Sub-Coordinator of the TB Substance of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia (Kemenkes RI), Dr. Endang Lukitosari, MPH, in webinar entitled “Unpacking the Myths of TB, Correct Information Help Quick Handling”, Thursday (24/3/2022).
For your information, webinar hosted by Stop TB Partnership Indonesia (STPI) together with Grid Health was held in the framework of World Tuberculosis Day which is commemorated every 24 March.
“Our society often considers TB to be spots or wet lungs. They don’t want it to be called TB. However, the two are different. TB is caused by a bacterial infection called Mycobacterium tuberculosis“said Dr. Endang.
Also Read: Tuberculosis is a contagious infectious disease, here’s what to do if you get infected
