Support 150 Tuberculosis Patients in Moldova

Speranta Terrei cooperates with medical staff at village polyclinics and at district Family Medicine Centres to screen persons at high risk for tuberculosis (TB). According to national Moldovan protocols, high-risk groups are persons with diabetes and chronic diseases, contacts of TB patients, smokers, alcohol abusers, and the homeless. The purpose of screening is to control person-to-person transmission of TB and increase patients’ chances of cure through early diagnosis and treatment.

With funding from the Project Coordination, Implementation, and Coordination Unit, Speranta Terrei is conducting screening in our home city Balti and in the districts of Ungheni, Glodeni, Ialoveni, and Calarasi. The district Family Medicine Centres transport high-risk groups from villages to the Centre for screening. In late June, Speranta Terrei’s staff was at the Ungheni Family Medicine Centre when Mihai, Nicolai, and Fiodor arrived from Rezina village on a bus the Centre had sent to bring them. The nurse at the polyclinic in Rezina village referred the three men for screening because they are contacts of TB patients. Medical staff at the Centre and Speranta Terrei’s staff, Snejana, asked them questions on TB symptoms according to national Moldovan protocols and then they underwent x-rays. Radiologists reviewed the x-rays and TB specialists (physiatres) examined patients whose x-ray results indicated further diagnostic tests and assessment.  

Feodora (Dora), Speranta Terrei’s president, says, “it is necessary for us to screen residents of villages where doctors are not present at the polyclinic. We have screened 900 persons in the first 6 months of this year and three persons among them were diagnosed with TB.” She explains Speranta Terrei offers Directly Observed Therapy (DOT) to TB patients in Balti and the districts, based on doctors’ advice on which patient requires extra care in taking TB medicine.

Vadim, a TB patient who was in our last report is looking healthier. Vadim has drug-susceptible TB and has another 3-4 months of treatment remaining. He said he feels stronger and the extra nutrition in the food packets Speranta Terrei delivers have helped him to regain his health.

Thank you to our GlobalGiving donors for helping us to reach high-risk groups and to control TB in Moldova.

For some patients, tuberculosis (TB) is a wake-up call, a signal to turn around their lives. Three of them, Aliona, Alexandru, and Vadim, talked about this to Speranta Terrei’s dear friend, Iris, when she visited Balti during our recent Orthodox Easter holidays.

Iris has been involved with Speranta Terrei for 14 years, starting with a connection to a Moldovan pupil at the English school where she taught, King William’s College. The school held charitable events to benefit Speranta Terrei’s patients and Iris spotted a cause which enriches her to this day. Speranta Terrei’s president, Feodora (Dora), is an inspiration to Iris, “She carries an aura of calmness and determination, which is reflected in her achievements and the friendships she has made over the years.”

The most memorable moment of Iris’ discussions with patients was when Aliona told her she had lived on the street and she had done bad things, saying,“Thanks to this disease, I met people that cared and were very kind to me. Now I understand I have to live because of people who need me and are not indifferent.” Aliona felt she was given a second chance, a chance to recover her health and live in an apartment together with her daughter and grandchildren. Doctors and nurses at the hospital where she was treated for TB impressed her with their care and kindness. After she was discharged, Speranta Terrei’s treatment supporters, called moderators, brought her medicine for drug-susceptible TB as part of a program of Directly Observed Therapy (DOT) to increase treatment completion.

Alexandru and Vadim told Iris how alcohol had consumed their lives. Vadim even fell into an alcohol coma and his parents took him to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with TB. Vadim said, “I used to drink a lot, I was weak and couldn’t walk, I couldn’t control my legs, it was awful. Then, in the hospital, the nurses took care of me and since I have come home, a moderator brings me medicine every day. I am very glad I can walk and speak with you now. I definitely want to be cured and start a new life.”

Iris was so moved by the patients’ stories and their positive outlook on life, saying “unanimously, they praised the doctors, nurses, and charities supporting them. They felt like human beings treated with respect and dignity.” We are moved by Iris’ words and her family’s enduring help to Speranta Terrei and TB patients. We could not provide this support without such friends and without our GlobalGiving donors. Many thanks to all of you.