A Belgian demining agency plans to use rats to detect tuberculosis in Cape Town.

The agency, named Apopo, who trains African pouch rats to sniff out land mines and detect TB in Mozambique and Tanzania, said in its newsletter, Herorat, it plans to train African pouched rats to sniff out the disease in Cape Town.

The company's CEO, Christophe Cox, and consultant in health and economics, Renaud de Hemptinne, travelled to Cape Town last week to study the viability of the programme.

"The main purpose of their visit was to research the possibilities for expanding the activities of Apopo into Cape Town," said the newsletter.

"Cape Town has a high infection rate for TB and Herorats' quick detection could have a huge impact on the local community."

Apopo hopes to set up facilities to further research and analyse rat detection of TB in Cape Town. The next step would be to develop a more precise research framework and objectives for Apopo's work in the tuberculosis detection sector in the Mother City.

"Apopo could gain strongly from the excellent research capacities and expertise in the field of TB research in Cape Town, such as the Desmond Tutu research group at the University of Cape Town and the National Health Laboratory Services," said the newsletter.

The Global TB report released in Geneva in March 2008 noted that South Africa had the worst TB prevalence rate in the world, with almost one South African out of every 100 living with the disease in 2006.

The Global TB report said at least 44 per cent of South Africans who were living with TB were also HIV-infected.

Sapa

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