Marking World Tuberculosis Day
On Thursday, March 24, 2016, the international community marked the World Tuberculosis Day. It is a day designed to build public awareness about the global epidemic of tuberculosis (TB) and efforts to eradicate the disease. The theme of World TB Day 2016 is “Unite to End TB. The day is observed annually and commemorates the day in 1882 when Dr. Robert Koch astounded the scientific community by announcing that he had discovered the cause of tuberculosis, the TB bacillus. Koch’s discovery opened the way toward diagnosing and curing tuberculosis.
Today tuberculosis causes the deaths of about 1.7 million people each year, killing one person in every 20 seconds mostly in the Third World including Nigeria. The disease also kills more young people and adults than any other infectious disease and is the world’s biggest killer of women. Reason is that women worldwide bear a disproportionate burden of poverty, poor health, malnutrition and disease.
Recently, the World Health Organisation (WHO) listed Nigeria as one of the countries with endemic tuberculosis burden. According to recent survey by the National TB and Leprosy Control Programme (NTBLCP), more than 600,000 new cases of tuberculosis have occurred in Nigeria, since 2014. It should be noted that Tuberculosis is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
It typically attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body. It is spread through the air when people who have an active TB infection cough, sneeze, or otherwise transmit their saliva through the air. If left untreated, kills more than 50 percent of those so infected. Tuberculosis remains a public health issue in Nigeria, having been ranked as the second cause of death after HIV/AIDS. Unfortunately, the disease could remain latent and undiagnosed in many sufferers. As a matter of fact, infection in healthy sufferers does not show any symptom, as the immune system builds a “wall off” the bacteria which is a factor in the spread and apparent rise in the number of cases in the country.
Incidentally, the lack of research, effective treatment and public enlightenment are among the factors that compound the problem. In the past, sufferers were taken into isolated locations but now with the availability and advances in the treatment methods, sufferers are no longer isolated. We therefore call for intensification of outreach efforts to at – risk communities and slums, screening of HIV infected individuals for TB, capacity building through training and research, adequate laboratory support system, including treatment and funding. Sadly, the country lacks enough medical institutions and facilities for the treatment of Tuberculosis. For example, the only infectious disease hospital in Lagos has been abandoned, even though it was refurbished in the wake of the outbreak of Ebola fever.
In this regard, we are calling on governments at all levels to build and equip more health centres to take care of those suffering for the disease. Because Nigeria is a TB endemic country, prevention is critical. We advise that persons use tissue or handkerchief for coughing and sneezing while encouraging others to do same.
In all, people should be careful and observe basic hygiene which is crucial to prevention.
