Health status of hostel dwellers. Part V. Tuberculosis notifications.

Cape Town tuberculosis notification rates for the hostel dwellers of Langa and Guguletu emphasise the severity of the problem among the poor in the city. But the enormity of the problem for the broader dependent migrant population can only be surmised from these figures. It is not possible to compile a comprehensive tuberculosis profile for a geographically divided mobile population nor provide the necessary continuity of treatment under the present politically contrived disparate health care system. Control of tuberculosis cannot wait for a political solution.