Tuberculosis cases declining in Angola

More than 1,000 new cases of tuberculosis were reported at the Sanatorium Hospital in Luanda, Angola, in the first six months of the year.

The total of 1,069 episodes registered at the hospital between January and June was less than half of the 2,345 reported in the same period in 2008, according to Angop new agency.

Afonso Wete, director general of the sanatorium, told the news provider that the number of consultations at the hospital was rising.

In 2008, some 6,400 patients sought medical advice at the sanatorium. This figure has almost been reached in the first six months of 2009, during which 6,000 people have had consultations.

Mr Wete suggested that rising cases of HIV and Aids were responsible for the increasing rates of people seeking consultations for tuberculosis.

The Sanatorium Hospital has 14 physicians. At present, there are 146 people admitted at the hospital, of which three are children.

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