Cough Officers Are Vital Health Workers

“Behind every person diagnosed with TB, there is cough officer,” says Thabsile Malaza, who helps screen patients for tuberculosis (TB) at St. Mary’s Clinic in Lobamba, Eswatini.  

Each day when Thabsile arrives at the clinic, Malaza and other cough officers conduct an education session about TB with patients. Then, throughout the day they check to see if patients are coughing. They collect sputum from those suspected of having TB.  

“Our facility does not initiate TB patients on treatment; we refer them to other facilities,” says Malaza. “However, we play a major role in ensuring that these people are enrolled to treatment.”  

Malaza and her peers also follow up on patients diagnosed with TB to see that they have been enrolled in treatment and that they are adhering to treatment. She says while awareness about TB is growing, too many of her patients fail to adhere to treatment.  

People need to understand that TB is curable, says Malaza, even for those who are living with HIV.

Malaza recalls one case she followed last year that involved a man in his 60s who is living with HIV. He refused to take TB medication and disappeared the day he was diagnosed with TB. He has not returned yet. This worries her because TB is the leading cause of death for people living with HIV.

People need to understand that TB is curable, says Malaza, even for those who are living with HIV.