Many East Africans miss out on disease diagnosis. What must be done about it
EARLY diagnosis is crucial for the effective management of any disease. In Africa, this isn’t always possible which affects the ability of countries to bring diseases under control. WILBER SABIITI, Senior Research Fellow in Medicine, University of St Andrews My colleagues and I conducted research into the barriers to diagnosis for tuberculosis (TB) in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. We also wanted to identify what opportunities there were to maximise the use of diagnostics in healthcare settings. We found that, in all three countries, the uptake of diagnostics was highest – over 90% – at large referral hospitals in major municipalities…