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From Paul Osuyi, Asaba
Dr. Emmanuel Ajumuka has decried the attitudinal issues among positive cases of tuberculosis (TB) in the management of the disease in Delta State. He said confirmed cases “do not adhere to medication, thereby exposing others to the disease.”
He lamented low enrolment rate, adding that the uptake of tuberculosis preventive therapy (TPT) by those exposed to the disease in Delta “is the poorest in Nigeria.”
Ajumuka, senior programme officer and state team lead, KNCV Nigeria, made the observations in Asaba during a media training workshop on TB. He said about 47 persons are infected with TB every hour, and about seven of them are children, noting that most people were ignorant that children could contract the disease:
“The only way to diagnose a child is the stool sample because children cannot produce sputum which is the sample for adults.
“But in Delta, parents are not willing to produce the stool of their children for laboratory analysis, thinking that the stool is meant for rituals. And for every nine samples tested, we record at least one positive case of TB.
“Even when you diagnose the disease, the patients do not complete the medication which is for six months for those with active TB.
“When they manage to take it for two months and feel well, they abandon it, thinking that they are completely healed. But the risk is higher when it comes back, as it becomes drugs resistant.
“So, we have this issue of enrolment and attitudinal issues in Delta State. There is treatment failure and loss of follow up in the management of TB in Delta.”
Ajumuka insisted that TB testing and treatment are free, urging residents with four cardinal symptoms of cough of more than two weeks, low fever, night sweat and unexplained weight loss to approach designated health facilities for screening.
He urged media to help disseminate accurate information about TB with a view to creating awareness in order to reduce or eliminate the disease in the state.
Assistant Director, Advocacy Communication and Social Mobilisation, Federal Ministry of Health, Mrs. Olajumoke Adebari, said the workshop would increase media knowledge on TB and control efforts; build capacity on human centred reporting; improve the quality of media reporting on TB and strengthen linkages between the media and TB team.
Director, Public Health, Delta State Ministry of Health, Dr. Christian Tetsola, said: “Tuberculosis is still here and we see high numbers that indicate its re-emergence; hence, we have decided to re-group and re-strategise. We must face it headlong.
“We need to create awareness that tuberculosis is a curable disease and if infected persons do not get treated, they will go on to infect others, especially those closest to them.”
