Thika West residents have been warned against stigmatising patients with Tuberculosis (TB) disease.
Speaking at Thika Level Five hospital on Wednesday, Deputy Hospital Superintendent Justine Wairimu said TB patients needed love and care.
"Four patients have been diagnosed with Multi-Drug Resistant (MDR) Tuberculosis, one of the most virulent strains of TB which is very difficult to treat. The patients have complained of being stigmatised by some members of the public," Wairimu noted.
Wairimu said that patients suffering from TB should be supported and loved.
"We need to support TB patients because stigmatising them only lowers their self esteem," she added.
According to TB infection statistics, Thika West sub County has made notable steps in detecting and treating the disease, which has led to reduction of reported TB cases to 97 in 2015. This was a drop from 108 cases reported in 2014.
"This drop has been attributed to an effective community strategy that operates in the villages whose core mandate is to detect and recommend TB patients for treatment. As a result, hundreds of potential TB patients have been taken to diagnostic centres and placed on treatment," she revealed.
She warned that failure by people infected with the disease to adhere to the treatment schedule poses a threat to thousands of residents and called for more surveillance on the disease.