PARLIAMENT | The government's ongoing war against Covid-19 should also take into account a possible increase in other diseases including tuberculosis, said Kuala Kedah MP Dr Azman Ismail.
The PKR lawmaker, in his debate of the Supply Bill 2021, said allocations for the Health Ministry should consider bolstering resources needed to tackle existing issues such as tuberculosis and non-communicable diseases.
"What is our preparation if, after the Covid-19 pandemic, we are faced with a spike in tuberculosis and non-communicable diseases?
"Those are major causes of death and require resources... if the allocations are reduced, we could be destroyed," he said.
In his debate, Azman (above) also cited a study by a team of experts from London's Imperial College that projected a global increase in tuberculosis cases and related deaths after a three-month Covid-19 lockdown.
"This is because, when there is a lockdown, the basic (tuberculosis prevention) activities cannot be carried out properly," he said.
According to reports of the study's findings, the global lockdown caused by Covid-19 risked a "devastating" surge in tuberculosis cases, with nearly six million predicted new infections and 1.4 million additional deaths by 2025, in the event of failure to restart prevention and treatment programmes.
The high numbers were attributed to Covid-19 movement restrictions that made it impossible for healthcare workers to test vulnerable populations and for patients to access ongoing treatments
In Malaysia, Health Ministry data recorded 26,532 tuberculosis cases last year, an increase of two percent from 25,837 cases in 2018. The death rate for tuberculosis cases last year was at 3.7 for every 100,000 residents.
Meanwhile, the Selangor government reportedly recorded 3,585 tuberculosis cases in the state up till October 3 this year, all involving Malaysians.
From the figure, state health executive councilor Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud on Tuesday reportedly told the Selangor state assembly that the highest number of infections were recorded in the Petaling district, with 949 cases. - Mkini
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