The sexual reproductive health of women and their children is being affected by tuberculosis (TB), Thaindian.com has reported.
The likelihood of transmission of TB to a child before, during delivery or shortly after birth to a child is increased in areas with high TB infection rates. Maternal and infant mortality can also often be linked to TB, especially when associated with HIV.
However, despite the media attention to TB in sub-Saharan Africa and other areas, there is little discussion of the vulnerability of women to the disease. Public health development improvements in sub-Saharan Africa with increased HIV awareness could be unravelled by the threat of TB, but solutions to the problem are not easy, the website said.
Technological, research, human and financial investment is needed to combat the disease, but women's health needs must be the focus, the website argues. Men and women must be informed of the impact of TB on their sexual lives through a partnership between TB and sexual reproductive health services.
Yet systemic factors driving drug resistance and TB in sub-Saharan Africa cannot be ignored in order to resolve the issue, the website said.
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