Most asthma cases in Kenya are misdiagnosed

NAIROBI: The Government has sidelined asthma and majored on treatment and prevention of other respiratory diseases like Tuberculosis, Kenya Association for the Prevention of Tuberculosis and Lung diseases (KAPTLD), Technical Advisor Jeremiah Chakaya said.

And to make matters worse, Ministry of Health Lung Health Diseases co-ordinator Wesley Tomno said most asthma cases are always misdiagnosed and patients give wrong medicine.

KAPTLD says children are the most affected with recent studies showing that Nairobi and Eldoret and their environs have the highest rates of asthma in children aged between 13 and 14.

This has been associated with the children being exposed to cold and bad weather especially during school hours. In many schools, children report as early as 6am and leave late in the evening exposing them to cold which triggers an asthma attack.

Asthma affects the airways that carry air in and out of the lungs. Asthmatic people have red and inflamed airways and when they come into contact with an asthma trigger, the airways become narrower making it more difficult to breath. This has been coupled with misdiagnosis, stigma and lack of drugs and diagnostic centres in the country. Mr Tomno said most Government hospitals lack medicine and asthma specialists.

"In many cases, asthma patients are told they could be suffering from cold or flu. It gets out of hand over time because when the disease reaches a certain state, patients can die," he said.

Speaking in a Nairobi hotel while marking the World Asthma Day Tuesday, Tomno said the most affected are the poor and those living in slums and cannot access proper medical care.

"When they go to hospitals they are prescribed drugs to cure flu. In some cases they are also given anti-malaria drugs," he said.

He said over 1.3 million children are forced to stay out of school due to poor diagnosis.  Common asthma triggers include cigarette smoke, stress, fur, feathers and pollen.