By Prudence Ijah
The National Tuberculosis, Leprosy and Buruli Ulcer Control Programme (NTBLCP) says Nigeria is sitting on a time bomb owing to the rising cases of Tuberculosis in the country and the high missing cases of TB in the country.
This is even as statistics indicate that Tuberculosis accounts for more than 10 percent of deaths in Nigeria, hence the need for improved efforts towards the prevention and elimination of this highly infectious disease.
Speaking at a two day meeting on media sensitization held for health correspondents on production of TB messages and dissemination, the NTBLCP National Coordinator Dr. Chukwuma Anyaike revealed that the high indices of missing cases further puts more Nigerians in danger as only 27 percent of Nigerians are enlightened about the disease.
The World Health Organization (WHO) had ranked Nigeria ranks 7th among the 30 high burden countries globally and 1st in Africa and about 440 thousand cases of TB discovered daily in Nigeria while 300 thousand cases are still missing hence it remains an infectious disease that should be eradicated.
Tuberculosis is an infectious bacterial disease that mainly affects the lungs. The bacteria that cause TB are spread when an infected person coughs or sneezes. Most people infected with the bacteria that cause tuberculosis don’t have symptoms. When symptoms do occur, they usually include a cough (sometimes blood-tinged), weight loss, night sweats and fever.
Dr Anyaike called for improved partnership with the media towards improved awareness creation on the prevalence of Tuberculosis, the availability of free treatment for Tuberculosis and the need for people with prolonged cough to locate a dot centre and get tested.
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