Bauchi moves to end tuberculosis, procures 13 x-ray machines worth $1.9m

The Bauchi State government has procured 13 Portable Digital X-ray machines for Tuberculosis diagnosis, valued at $1.9 million in the state.

Executive Chairman, Bauchi State Agency for the Control of HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (BACATMA), Dr. Adamu Sambo, stated this in Bauchi on Wednesday while on a facility tour to the state’s External Quality Assurance Reference Lab.

According to him, each of the 13 machines is worth over $ 150,000 and is intended solely for Tuberculosis diagnosis in the state.
“The machines are mobile. Once you provide the logistics for moving it, tests can be conducted in one particular location and then moved to another location for the same mission.
“These machines can take a picture of your chest, and they will immediately detect if there is tuberculosis in your chest. They are a relatively new technology, and we have 13 of them.
“Five of them had already been put on mobile conducting tests in different facilities with a lot of clients, and we deployed others to other strategic locations,” he said.

Sambo explained that the machines’ images were of high resolution with less radioactive dangers to human health, saying “their exposure to radio activities is very minimal compared to other conventional machines that we have been using”.

The chairman, who noted that the state had the highest number of machines in the entire Northeast, stated that Governor Bala Mohammed was willing to bring more machines to the people of the state.

He also explained that the Bauchi State External Quality Assurance Reference Lab of BACATMA is a facility where individuals can check their HIV and tuberculosis status, as well as their blood group, free of charge.

He charged all intending couples to visit the lab and undergo all necessary tests before tying the knot, adding that no fee would be charged for conducting the tests.
“These are some of the wonders of the state governor in the agency for the people of Bauchi state. Testing kits and consumables in this lab are provided by the Bauchi State government,” he said.