Six hospital visits before diagnosing TB meningitis are costing children’s lives
Children with TB meningitis in South Africa often face multiple hospital visits before receiving an accurate diagnosis, leading to severe complications or death. Researchers are now developing rapid point-of-care tests to reduce diagnostic delays and improve survival rates.
Why it matters
Delayed diagnosis of TB meningitis is a significant public health failure in high-burden regions, causing preventable lifelong disabilities in children.
A child with tuberculosis (TB) meningitis typically visits a hospital six times before receiving a diagnosis, a delay that experts say is costing lives.
Prof Novel Chegou, head of the TB Diagnostics (Biomarker) Research Laboratory at Stellenbosch University, says by the time many children are diagnosed with the disease, it is often too late to prevent death or permanent brain damage.
“Six visits are simply too many. Early diagnosis is critical because by the time many children are diagnosed, they have already developed severe complications,” Chegou said.
Childhood TB meningitis remains one of the Western Cape’s most devastating yet overlooked health threats. Though the disease is treatable, delayed diagnosis continues to leave many children with lifelong neurological disabilities or claims their lives.
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