Drug Resistance, Others Impede War on TB – Experts

Despite tremendous progress in the fight against tuberculosis, almost half a million sufferers grapple with multi-drug resistant strains which are far harder to treat. The situation is worsened in Nigeria by co-infection with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), despite the over 37 million lives saved, much more needs to be done. In 2013, 9 million people fell ill with TB and an estimated 1.5 million people still die of tuberculosis each year.

TB is a serious infectious disease that mainly affects the lungs. The bacteria that cause tuberculosis are spread from one person to another through tiny droplets released into the air via coughs and sneezes.

The disease frequently has devastating economic consequences for affected families, reducing their annual income by an average of 50 per cent, and aggravating existing inequalities.

“This is a matter of social justice, fundamental to our goal of universal health coverage. Each and every man, woman or child with TB should have equal, unhindered access to the innovative tools and services they need for rapid diagnosis, treatment and care,” says Dr Margaret Chan, WHO Director-General.

However, Director, HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis Research Group of the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), Lagos, Professor Oni Idigbe, said creating awareness and providing information on the prevention, management and treatment in communities would help reduce the burden of the disease in the Nigeria. Idigbe said this at a public lecture organised in commemoration of the World Tuberculosis Day marked every March 24 with the theme: “Reach The Three Million: Find, Treat And Cure Everyone.”

According to him, Nigeria was among the 11 high-burden countries that contributed 80 per cent of the estimated 9 million new tuberculosis cases globally every year. ‘’

Nigeria contributes 15 per cent of the 80 per cent of new cases among the 11 high burden countries. The burden of TB in Nigeria was further made worse by challenges of HIV co-infection, drug-resistant TB and TB among children. ‘’We are even going beyond multi-drug resistance TB cases as we are now having cases of Extremely Drug-Resistant TB in Nigeria. Even with all the efforts of the federal government in providing substantial human and financial resources to control TB in Nigeria, many people still do not make themselves available for treatment.

‘’This shows that we still need to reach out to those people in the rural communities where TB cases seem to be rampant and educate them to curb the spread of the disease, ‘’ he said.

Also speaking, Dr Daniel Onwunjekwe, urged individuals and against TB.

‘’You can contribute to TB control efforts by identifying and encouraging anyone who has cough of more than two weeks duration to go for TB screening. And you also need to support those on TB treatment to complete their full course of treatment which normally lasts six months.

‘’The federal government had done its part by provided free diagnosis, drugs and treatment for the disease. This is a wake-up call for all of us to do all we can to prevent the spread of TB, ‘’ he said.

Prof. Innocent Ujah, the Director- General of NIMR, urged community and religious leaders in the country to be proactive and educate their people on ways to access treatment for uberculosis. Ujah said that combating TB required the efforts of individuals, NGOs and private organisations as government could not do it alone.

The institute, he added, would continue to support government’s efforts in terms of research to eradicate the disease in Nigeria.