.Over 7,216 Bauchi residents diagnosed in 2023
Nigeria has witnessed a spike in reported Tuberculosis (TB) cases in the past five years, from 106,000 in 2018 to 285,000 in 2022.
A new report by the World Health Organisation (WHO), yesterday, stated that about 70 per cent of TB cases in Africa were being diagnosed and treated, marking the highest case-detection rate in the region ever.
Also, Bauchi State Agency for the Control of HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis/Leprosy and Malaria (BACATMA) said 7,216 cases of TB were treated out of the targeted 18,000 projected for 2023.
According to WHO, the case detection rate has been on the rise since 2018, as the region saw a significant increase between 2020 and 2022, from 60 per cent to 70 per cent.
The report reads: “There has also been a notable reduction in the region in the number of people with TB, who miss diagnosis. An estimated 700,000 people missed diagnosis in 2022, a 10 per cent reduction compared with 2021. To further rally efforts to end the disease through concerted global efforts to advance detection, diagnosis and treatment, World TB Day is being marked this year with the theme ‘Yes! We can end TB’.”
WHO attributed this progress to several factors, including continued TB services during the COVID-19 pandemic and improved management of HIV infection, a major risk factor for TB.
The Regional Director for Africa, Dr MatshidisoMoeti, said: “More efforts are still needed to reduce the devastating impact of this disease on families and communities. As WHO, we continue working closely with governments to address the barriers to effective response and speed up the momentum to make TB history.”
While briefing newsmen, yesterday, at BACATMA Head Office, Bauchi, the Director of Tuberculosis Control, Dr Yakubu Abdullahi, said the agency had, in partnership with United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Breakthrough ACTION Nigeria and other partners, deployed Artificial Intelligence (AI) to diagnose suspected cases of TB with a mobile van to reach more promote areas.
Abdullahi said that the agency deployed both passive and active surveillance with diagnosis centres at the 20 local councils of the state to ease the hardship faced by the people.
“We know quite alright that people are facing economic hardship. In that case, we have put a measure in place to go to the community where samples are taken to the council headquarters.
“We do not want people to also travel from villages to local council headquarters for testing; we go for the sample and also pay for transport,” he said.
According to the Commissioner for Health, Dr Adamu Sambo, Nigeria ranked sixth among the high burden countries and first in Africa with high burden for TB.
He stated: “Nigeria is among the top 10 countries that account for 77 per cent of the Global Gap in TB case findings and contributes nine per cent to the Global Gap between TB incidence and notified cases.
“Despite being preventable and curable, globally, TB sickens about 10 million people and kills 1.4 million year after year.”
