250 dead from drug-resistant TB

A drug-resistant from of TB has killed 250 patients and eight medical staff in a South African hospital.

The deaths, a result of the Extensively Drug-Resistant (XDR) and Multi-Drug Resistant (MDR) tuberculosis, have occurred in the same hospital, Tugela Ferry's Church of Scotland hospital, over the last three years, reports the Independent Online.

Principal medical officer Tony Moll has said that new patients with the infectious disease "keep coming", and a new study by researchers at Yale University in the US suggest that this trend is set to continue.

However, the report also showed that some simple steps could also stop the airborne disease.

"It is reassuring to know that simple steps like the use of N95 masks by nurses and doctors, proper ventilation and regular screening of staff could make a difference," he told the publication.

According to recent reports, the number of cases of TB infection in Uganda is increasing.

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