Socio-economic factors fuelling TB crisis among the homeless

SOCIO-ECONOMIC factors such as housing, malnutrition and drug abuse are definitely one of the leading factors when it comes to South Africa's high tuberculosis (TB) numbers.

- JOHN GOLIATH

The country has an incidence rate of 468 per 100 000 people. In 2022, authorities recorded about 54 000 deaths from TB, which was co-driven by the high HIV infection rate.

TB and HIV go hand-in-hand, with HIV compromising the immune system allowing TB to attack the body, and specifically the lungs.

The homeless are some of the most vulnerable people when it comes to TB.

Dr Jacques Cronje, medical manager of Sonstraal TB hospital in Paarl, says homeless people don't make up a lot of their patients, but are the people most prone to end up at the hospital with a TB related illness.

"TB is a big problem in the Western Cape and in the country," Cronje said.

"When it comes to the homeless, people who stay under a bridge or a shelter made from cardboard ... they are in the system throughout the year.

"TB is an illness commonly found in people whose immune systems are compromised. And the homeless are normally malnourished, while HIV and drugs also play a massive role in people contracting it."