The Northern Cape Health Department says TB tracer teams have been disbanded because of financial constraints. It hsa emerged that about 4000 tuberculosis patients in the Northern Cape are unaccounted for and cannot be traced by the provincial health department. There are reportedly more than 80 000 missing TB patients in South Africa, of which 4189 are missing in that province. The numbers were reflected in the department's first quarterly report for 2018/19. After HIV and Aids, TB is the second biggest killer in the province and the two infectious diseases have close ties. Neo Bodumela reports