Masvingo – Memories of a painful experience of eight years ago are still vivid in Alfred Masilo’s mind.
By Sukuoluhle Ndlovu
But instead of crushing him, lessons from the worst days of his life have inspired Masilo to take it upon himself to help strangers battling tuberculosis (TB).
For many days, Masilo (44), a Masvingo cobbler who operates near Mucheke bus terminus, endured sleepless nights suffering from a persistent cough and night sweating.
He decided to visit Masvingo General Hospital where he was diagnosed of TB in 2010. That marked the beginning of a traumatic phase for him.
Friends, relatives and church members shunned Masilo. Some told him he was not going to live for long.
Masilo shared his painful story and how he is now determined to make fellow Zimbabweans know that TB does not kill, but people die because of lack of knowledge and the belief that once one is infected the end result is death.
Determined to make sure others do not go through what he endured, Masilo has taken it upon himself to raise TB awareness in his community. He is helping people he believes have symptoms of the disease by advising them to go for screening.
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He shares with them the benefits of early treatment of TB patients. Currently, he does not have an organisation he is attached to and he spreads his message from his home or his workplace while repairing clients’ shoes.
“When I see a person with TB symptoms, I try to encourage them in a polite way to go for screening,” Masilo said.
“I tell them that TB is not a death sentence and that I am a living example as l got treated and am now living a healthy, normal life.”
Christopher Zishiri, the country director for the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), an organisation involved in the fight against TB, said it was important for TB patients to adhere to treatment.
“When a person is presumed to have TB, appropriate medical investigations are conducted,” he said.
“Once a diagnosis is made, the person is immediately commenced on treatment, which he or she has to adhere to for positive outcomes.”
Zishiri added: “Patients on TB treatment should ensure they take their medication as prescribed by the health care workers, even if they start to feel better. We also encourage them to practice good cough hygiene to minimise the spread of the disease.
“Should they feel any discomfort while on treatment, they must immediately visit their health facility to get help.”
He said defaulting treatment was the worst thing a person could ever do stressing that once one was on treatment, they should finish the course.
It might take time, but eventually results will come. Masilo has fully recovered after religiously sticking to the TB treatment regime and thanks his family for the success.
“I am free from TB now because l did not default treatment and l always tell everyone that l am not embarrassed to let people know that l once suffered from TB,” he declared. “I will continue following medical advice so that I don’t fall sick again.”
Masilo said his mission was to fight stigma suffered by people with TB and encourage as many people as possible in his community to get tested.
“It is my dream to see everyone in my community doing away with the fear of getting tested,” he said.
“I want people suffering from TB to stop seeking help from prophets or traditional healers because that compromises their health.
“These people will do you no good, but will mislead you. You will die if you listen to what they say.
“The hospital and medical doctors are the people who have solutions and we should trust them.
“The advice I will give others that find themselves in the situation I was in before I received treatment is that they must seek treatment immediately and never fear stigmatisation.”
Masilo believes that if he had not sought treatment early, he would have died of a curable disease.
“I was in great pain and had lost weight,” he said. “At night I would sweat heavily and I had difficulties in sleeping because of the pain.”
At the height of his illness he could no longer walk without support because his legs were swollen and he had lost strength. His weight had sunk to 43kg.
Masvingo province TB coordinator Fortune Tauro gave tips to people with TB and how they should relate to it.
“TB patients should follow the recommended treatment guidelines and adhere to them. if it is six months, they should complete the treatment because we want people to be cured,” he said.
“People should get treatment without hindrances as TB treatment is free so everyone should not fear being treated as government facilities are there for the people. “We want people to be cured and we want TB to be eradicated.
“That is why we monitor and visit the facilities that treat TB quarterly and we also have district TB coordinators in the province.”
To ensure people come forward, they continuously provide TB awareness.
“We keep on giving information to organisations so that they inform society about TB and people get screened early so that they get treatment at an early stage,” Tauro said.
“People who are infected with HIV are strongly advised to be screened for TB and so should those who are diabetic.
“We are trying to intensify communication with the people. so far the figures have gone down. When HIV cases reduce, so does TB as they go hand in hand.”
Dadirayi Manyarara, a ZNNP+ community TB care officer, said TB patients often suffered stigmatisation from relatives, friends, workmates or at church.
“There is need to educate or raise awareness about stigma and discrimination and people should dispel myths and misconceptions around HIV and TB if the fight against the diseases is to be successful,” she said.
As a social disease, TB is largely stigmatised mainly due to limited understanding and knowledge of the disease in the communities, yet it is a disease that can be successfully treated, said Zishiri.
The National TB programme and The Union, with support from USAID Challenge TB, have engaged community leaders through community discussion forums to teach them about TB so that they can in turn create an enabling environment for affected individuals and families within their communities to manage the disease.
