Lockdowns meant to protect people from Covid-19 have now turned against patients and TB treatment seems to be suffering the greatest assault.

Mary Nzamalu, a clinician in charge of TB in Nairobi's Starehe sub-county tells HealthyNation public hospitals are trying their best to keep patients on medication and ensure they do not miss clinics.

According to Kenya's TB programme at the Health ministry, there were about 156,000 people with the disease in the country, but nearly half of all estimated cases were not diagnosed, notified and/or treated in 2018.

Dr Patrick Oyaro, a public health expert who focuses on HIV, says the fewer crowds as a result of Covid-19 have reduced the likelihood of people being infected with TB.

Only 30 per cent of patients with drug-resistant TB completed their treatment in 2016 (no other analysis has been made public since then), according to the Health ministry.