What is this article about?
This article describes rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis (RR-TB) patients who were initiated on RR-TB treatment and shares reasons for non-initiation in patients who didn’t commence treatment in Gauteng. The article further reports how long it took for patients to start taking treatment from the day that they were diagnosed with RR-TB.

Why does this matter?
South Africa is a high-burden country for drug-resistant (DR) TB, and TB is one of the leading causes of death. In order to interrupt transmission of the disease and decrease its spread and resultant deaths, it is vital to ensure that all patients are initiated on DR-TB treatment in the shortest time possible.

What drew your interest in this area of research?
TB is preventable and curable. Therefore, the opportunity to fight this disease exists through linking patients to care for treatment and ensuring that fewer patients are untraceable after RR-TB diagnosis.

What was your role in the article?
As an epidemiologist who has been collating and analysing this data over time, I had the opportunity to conceptualise the publication and write up the findings of this project.

Why should people read this article?
The article reports progress made in RR-TB treatment initiation rates in Gauteng and highlights gaps that may provide insights for future interventions to address and improve treatment initiation.

What impact do you hope this article will have on public health policy and access to healthcare?
I hope that this article will encourage healthcare workers to strengthen pre-testing and post-testing counselling for RR-TB patients, to increase patients’ likelihood of remaining linked to care. Furthermore, I hope that the need for an integrated information system for the entire TB cascade will be supported through this article.

Ms Nomathamsanqa Ndhlovu is an Epidemiologist at the Division of Public Health Surveillance and Response, National Institute for Communicable Diseases.

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