Nigerian Medical Association on Sunday said Nigeria had the highest population of people living with tuberculosis in Africa.
The association has therefore urged the Federal Government to prioritise the fight against the scourge, especially as it plans for the country’s centenary anniversary.
NMA President, Dr. Osahon Enabulele, stated this on Sunday on the occasion of the World Tubeculosis Day entitled ‘In my life time, Stop TB in my life time’.
Enabulele said 27,000 of 190,000 Nigerians diagnosed with the disease in 2011 died, while 84,263 new cases were recorded in 2012.
Enabulele in a statement said, “Government and other stakeholders must wake up to the reality that Nigeria has the highest TB burden in Africa and 10th largest in the world. TB deaths are unacceptable. The pain of this fact is further aggravated by the realisation that TB is an entirely preventable and easily curable disease if simple public health regulations, hygiene practices and the treatment guidelines are strictly adhered to.”
He urged the Federal Government to invest in research activities toward finding more anti-TB vaccine, noting that this breakthrough could lead to totally eradication of the disease in Africa.
Enabulele stated, “NMA being a knowledge-based organisation whose strength lies in scientific research and knowledge dissemination, calls on the Federal Government to make the fight against TB one of its centenary anniversary projects by massively investing in TB research activities towards the discovery of the much needed anti-TB vaccine.”
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For management TB,it requires a good infrastructures to be in place; there must be TB reference laboratories set up in different states across the country, built according to WHO and CDC Standard, application of rapid diagnostic methods that would facilitate early identification and treatment TB particularly in those with MDR-TB is necessary eg Genexpert system is very necesssary. Finally staff should be properly trained on how to manage TB patients based WHO and CDC infection control plans for TB in order to reduce and prevent the transmission of TB among the patients and staff. And all these cannot be without the support from government. TB is a global problem which can be controlled and prevented by effective implementation of TB infection control, and this is the process by which western world brought theirs under controlled.
ReplyDeletewhy would a tb patient be allowed to move around on the street., so they can infect others? sitting with people in an unventilated bus for a long journey. The govt hospitals are not being fair. any one with this transmissible disease should be kept under monitoring, till they overcome
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