Support 150 Tuberculosis Patients in Moldova

At the age of 77, Nikolai has been homeless for 10 years and he is worn down from living outside. He was born in the village of Cheorpkany in Ungheni district in northern Moldova. He worked as a repairman on the railroad, he was married twice, and has two daughters.

He recounts how he found himself on the street, without documents, without a home, and without family. His wife left him and even his daughters turned their backs on him. A bus shelter in the center of Stolniceni village in Ungheni district has been his refuge. Here, he has a makeshift bed, clothes in bags, and food from compassionate villagers who spare what they can. A few years ago, local authorities allocated him an abandoned house, tragically it burned down in a fire. Since then, he has been staying at the bus shelter.

A week ago, Nikolai came to the attention of Speranta Terrei’s staff during outreach to screen persons at risk for tuberculosis (TB). A woman who lives near the bus shelter and occasionally helps Nikolai told Speranta Terrei’s president, Feodora (Dora), that he needed help. When Dora approached Nikolai, he began to cry, saying, “I no longer expect help from anyone.” Dora explained why she was asking him questions, why it was important to undergo tests for TB, and how Speranta Terrei could arrange for tests and give treatment support if he were diagnosed with TB. Nikolai’s answers to screening questions were that he experienced coughing, chest pain, blood in phlegm, and fever. Based on these symptoms, Dora recommended Nikolai be selected to go to Ungheni Family Medicine Centre for a medical exam.

Evghenii and other Speranta Terrei staff brought Nikolai food and clothes, arranged a place for him to bathe, and scheduled him for the medical exam. On the day of the bus ride to Ungheni Family Medicine Centre, Nikolai’s appearance was dramatically different. Sitting on the same bench where Evghenii brought him a bag of food and clothes the previous week, Nikolai was ready for the trip. Nikolai has had an x-ray and other tests and he and Speranta Terrei’s staff await the results.

This is the way Speranta Terrei reaches persons such as Nikolai and gets them help for TB diagnosis and treatment and for basic needs. We thank our GlobalGiving donors for helping us to get help for Nikolai and other persons at high risk for TB.

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.