Doctors at the main hospital in Pochalla in the Greater Pibor Administrative Area (GPAA) along the border with Ethiopia revealed that they have been sending away patients seeking consultation and treatment for Tuberculosis (TB) because they cannot carry out confirmatory tests for the deadly respiratory infection.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj on Tuesday, Okwier Ojulu Okwier, the head of Pochalla Hospital, appealed to the National Health Ministry and well-wishers to come to their aid by reviving the tuberculosis program at the facility, warning of dire consequences if TB patients remain unattended to.
He pointed out that they have been turning away patients since last year over the lack of testing services.
“We have two laboratories and four technicians but the problem is that we ran out of reagents since last year so we have not been able to carry out confirmatory tests. When patients come, we send them away to Ethiopia to be tested,” he stated. “We recently received six patients presenting with TB-related signs but we could not help because we lack testing reagents. This is worrying because TB may spread within the community.”
Ojulu added: “We have some emergency combination drugs for TB and HIV/AIDS so when the patients test positive for TB in Ethiopia, they come here and we give them medication.”
He said health officials in Juba sent them TB and HIV/AIDS medications without dispatching reagents to test for TB but promised to send them.
Meanwhile, Pochalla South County Commissioner Otho Okoti decried the situation and appealed for urgent intervention.
“There is no active TB Program in Pochalla and patients go to Ethiopia if they suspect they have the disease so we are appealing for urgent intervention,” he said.