Former soldier Kepra looked for answers in church for four months before getting tested for tuberculosis.
“My name is Kepra. I was born on the slopes of Mt Kilimanjaro, 66 years ago, but in 1971, I moved to Dar es Salaam, where I live with my wife and our two grandchildren. I am a retired officer from the Tanzania People’s Defense Forces. After the Idi Amin War in 1979, I joined the army and served my country through the 1980s. Following my military service, I worked as a security guard for various private companies until recently I was let go as I was too sick to work.
Being sick at home has been the most challenging experience of my life. I suffered for months without understanding the cause of my ailments. I had symptoms similar to malaria—fevers and night sweats—so I decided to visit a nearby clinic for a malaria test. To my surprise, the diagnosis came back negative for malaria, but I took the treatment anyway as a precaution. However, despite the treatment, I continued to experience persistent coughing and excessive night sweats. In a desperate attempt to find relief, my wife and I attended numerous church services, seeking healing from prayers, but without success.
After four months, my wife finally took my hand and led me to the hospital. She said to me, ‘Let’s go for further testing; I pray to God it’s not HIV/AIDS.’ Fortunately, our worst fears were alleviated when the clinic told us I was HIV-negative. They did ask to take a sputum sample (the liquid from my lungs) to test me for tuberculosis (TB). And we were sent home. The next day they called me to come back to the clinic. They diagnosed me with tuberculosis and promptly initiated the correct treatment. They informed me that one of my samples was sent to a partner laboratory for further screening as they had not been able to diagnose it in their lab. This lab uses African giant pouched rats to smell my illness. They confirmed what the rats found in their lab before notifying my clinic to get me on treatment.
Before this, I had lost hope. I was afraid of the affliction tormenting my body. I rapidly lost weight and had become alarmingly weak. I was unable to work or support my family. They shouldered all the burdens on my behalf. However, since I started treatment, I have regained my strength and I have hope for the future. I am also gaining back some of the pounds I lost.
I never could have imagined that rats could play a role in diagnosing my mystery illness. I had heard of rats being trained to detect bombs, but now I have witnessed firsthand how these remarkable creatures are saving lives by diagnosing TB. It leaves me speechless. This innovative technology is truly remarkable, especially considering that conventional diagnostic methods sometimes fail to identify TB. I see rats in a different light, and I am deeply grateful to the HeroRATs and APOPO and hope they will continue their invaluable work in helping more people like me.”