GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Mar. 27, CMC – The Ministry of Health, in its ongoing fight against tuberculosis (TB), launched clinical guidelines for healthcare practitioners on Thursday.
The handbook provides doctors and other medical personnel with instructions for treating latent TB in infants, children, and adults.
Guidelines include dosage instructions for medication at each stage, the frequency and duration of treatment, scheduling for initial and follow-up tests, and recommendations for managing patients co-infected with HIV and TB.
Additional content covers treatment guidelines for special populations, patient follow-up care, and locations of TB treatment sites across Guyana.
The Ministry of Health’s goal is to eradicate TB and reduce the suffering that comes along with the disease, stress, financial burden and mental health issues.
The Ministry’s 2015 baseline figure was to have a 75% reduction in TB deaths and 50% reduction in TB incidence by 2025, which was partially achieved as the infection rate has significantly declined but death rate remains the same.
Tuberculosis is a contagious disease caused by a bacteria, mycobacterium tuberculosis, which is expelled into the air when a carrier coughs, sneezes or spits.
According to the last confirmed recorded statistics by the Ministry, in 2023 TB was still one of the leading causes of mortality globally with 1.25 million deaths.
In Guyana 520 persons contracted the disease, 75.5 % men, 24.5% women and 1.7% children, with 27 deaths.
The handbook contains information on treatment of latent TB infections for infants, children and adults who are HIV positive, have diabetes and are pregnant or breastfeeding.
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