Nigeria: The country records 250,000 new cases of TB annually
Nigeria is among the 22 countries burdened with TB in the world, and the second highest in Africa
Uyo — Nigeria is among the 22 countries burdened with tuberculosis in the world, and the second highest in Africa, with an estimated 250,000 new cases occurring annually, the Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu has said. Chukwu disclosed this yesterday at the 2011 annual review meeting of the National TB and Leprosy Control programme held in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.
The minister, who was represented by the Director of Public Health, Mansur Kabir said a total of 90,447 TB cases were recorded in the 36 states and Abuja in 2010 while HIV prevalence among TB patients increased from 2.2 per cent in 1991 to about 25 per cent in 2011. He said the country has however, adopted the World Health Organisation recommended Directly Observed Treatment Short-Course (DOT) to mitigate the scourge.
"As you are aware, Nigeria has adopted the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended Directly Observed Treatment Short- Course (DOTS) as the strategic intervention to control the spread of TB," he said.
He identified increasing association between HIV/TB and multi-drug resistant TB as major challenges of the TB and Leprosy programme in the country.
According to the minister, HIV/ADS infections accelerates TB epidemic through increased primary infection and endogenous reactivation in immune compromised individuals, thereby causing frequent deaths among HIV patients.
He said his ministry would soon conduct a national TB survey in collaboration with the Center for Disease Control and other partners to address the challenge of multi drugs resistant TB.
Participants of the annual meeting were drawn from the 36 states of federation as well as WHO partners.
By Patrick Odey
allAfrica.com