The Health ministry has dismissed claims the country has run out of cartridges used for printing results for TB patients.
Director of Medical Services Jackson Kioko on Saturday said the cartridges referred to are not for printing results. Instead, they are for detecting the mycobacteria causing tuberculosis and the level of resistance to Rifampicin drug using new technology, the GeneXpert, he said in a statement.
Rifampicin is an antibiotic that helps to treat tuberculosis and meningococcal meningitis. It is taken with other medicines to prevent the spread of infection.
The GeneXpert is a new test for tuberculosis. It can detect if a person is infected with TB, and if the TB bacterium has resistance to one of the common TB drugs, rifampicin. Kioko said some counties with high burden of TB had reported reduced or limited stock of GeneXpert cartridges. He blamed this for rationing of use to selected cases, especially to children.
“The ministry, together with the counties, has begun the process or redistribution of cartridges from facilities that have sufficient stock to those that are running low,” Kioko said.
He said the use of microscopy to screen and diagnose TB as an alternative to GeneXpert cartridges is underway, and all health providers are trained to use it to ensure there is no gap.
“The country is to receive the first shipment of 232,421 more cartridges by mid-next week and distribution to all counties is expected to be completed in two weeks,” he said.
Kioko said the ministry has begun procurement of the second consignment of 231,000 cartridges to ensure there is no disruption of services to suspected TB patients.
The government is committed to ensuring availability of adequate screening test kits, including TB microscopy, so suspected patients do not suffer, he said.