“Tuberculosis (TB) is curable. We all have to get up and start taking measures, which will see us stopping the spread of TB and possible infections,” said clinical nurse practitioner Ms Rebecca Mashau.

She was speaking during the recent World TB Day event held at the Vuwani police station. She told the gathering, which included the Vuwani Pastors' Forum, SAPS members, youth representatives, home-based care workers and local community policing forums, that people must not shy away from taking TB tests for fear of stigmatisation.

“As from today, you mustn't lock yourselves indoors, because you think you can hide from TB,” she said. “You need to get tested and, if you are found to be infected with TB, then you'll have to take treatment. We have had cases where people ran away from us, the caregivers and the police because they feared that they might be HIV positive.”

Mashau emphasised that even when people are HIV positive, running away from oneself is not the answer. “You need to get tested and treated in time to prevent any aggravation,” she advised.

One woman relayed a case of two friends who would share medication, because the one didn't go to the clinic for consultation but felt that they could share medicines since they had a similar problem. “That's suicide! Medication is prescribed according to a health practitioner's findings,” she said.

The chairperson for the Vuwani community policing forum, Mr Khakhathi Mukwevho, encouraged all those who had attended the event to spread the word that TB is curable. “Mu-hana-ndivho ndi mupfuma-vivho (One who refuses knowledge gets to have jealousy in his heart),” Mukwevho said idiomatically. “We must start uplifting one another's spirits and then we'll live in healthy bodies.”

At the end of the function, attendees were tested for TB and HIV voluntarily.