BBC NEWS | In Pictures | In pictures: Fighting TB in South Africa

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08:50 GMT, Monday, 22 December 2008

In pictures: Fighting TB in South Africa

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It is estimated that nine million people contract standard tuberculosis every year. TB is a world public health crisis and in South Africa it has been declared a national emergency.

A nurse carries the TB drugs

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The Church of Scotland Hospital in South Africa's eastern town of Tugela Ferry has introduced a home-based treatment programme where patients are given their treatment in the community.

A home based care patient

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Nursing staff travel around the community and give injections. This reduces the patients’ transport costs and means they don't have to spend a long time in a hospital ward in the nearest city, Durban.

Training

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The nursing staff train the patient's family members in infection control. Using this system, the infection rate to family members is less than 2%.

An injection

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Home-based treatment is also used for those suffering from Extreme Drug Resistant Tuberculosis or XDR-TB, which is on the rise in South Africa.

The nurses leave the community

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HIV is the main reason there is so much TB in South Africa, where 19% of the population is HIV-positive. People with a suppressed immune system are easy prey for the infection.

Injecting a patient

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But there is so much of the disease now that everyone is at risk of TB, whether they are HIV-positive or not.

An injection is prepared

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Being seen at home means it is far more likely that patients will finish the course. If they don't, the treatment is often not effective. Photos by John Robinson

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