Sade Oguntola : 27 January 2011
National Coordinator, National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Programme, Dr Mansur Kabir said at least 7,000 Nigerians had contracted a form of Tuberculosis (TB) that does not respond to the usual drugs for treating TB.
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Dr Kabir stated this during a 2-day national training for doctors, nurses and general health workers on clinical and programmatic management of Multidrug Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB), held in Ibadan.
Dr Kabir declared that many patients were discovered to have developed the MDR-TB in a survey being undertaken in the country, thus the Ministry becoming actively involved in ensuring increased access to treatment for MDR-TB.
According to him, “with the support of partners like USAID and CDC, we are working assiduously to improve our diagnostic capacity, to identify patients with MDR-TB as well as ensure the availability of required drugs for their treatment.”
Dr Kabir, disclosing that only one centre at University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, was treating MDR-TB cases, stated that more centres were expected to start operation in Calabar, Lagos, Zaria and Kano before the end of 2012.
He attributed the delay in commencement of treatment for MDR-TB at other zones of the country to the difficult nature of diagnosing and treating this form of TB, its expensive cost as well as the required expertise to man such facilities.
Dr Kabir, while expressing his displeasure on people selling anti-TB drugs that were meant to be free, stated that the Health Minister, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu had written to the Inspector of police in order that punitive measures might be taken on the issue.
While declaring that Private-Public-Partnership was important in ensuring all cases of TB receive adequate care, he solicited for better documentation of TB distribution at the local government levels and health facilities to ensure adequate care is available for TB.
Dr Kabir advised persons with TB to ensure they adhere to their treatment while individuals protect themselves from contracting TB by living in well ventilated rooms, eating good diet, seeking medical care when coughing, shun smoking, maintain good hygiene as well as ensure that all babies receive the BCG vaccine to protect them from TB.
Currently, about 500,000 cases of MDR-TB cases occur yearly in the world and about 3 per cent are properly treated because diagnosis of MRD-TB is new and the required drugs are expensive.
Nigeria has the highest case of TB in Africa and it is estimated that about 450,000 new cases of TB occur yearly in Nigeria. However, only 94,000 of these TB cases were detected last year. Children and pregnant women are more vulnerable to contracting TB because of their immunity level.
http://tribune.com.ng/index.php/health-news/16707-7000-nigerians-have-difficulty-treating-tb-
National Coordinator, National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Programme, Dr Mansur Kabir said at least 7,000 Nigerians had contracted a form of Tuberculosis (TB) that does not respond to the usual drugs for treating TB.
Dr Kabir stated this during a 2-day national training for doctors, nurses and general health workers on clinical and programmatic management of Multidrug Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB), held in Ibadan.
Dr Kabir declared that many patients were discovered to have developed the MDR-TB in a survey being undertaken in the country, thus the Ministry becoming actively involved in ensuring increased access to treatment for MDR-TB.
According to him, “with the support of partners like USAID and CDC, we are working assiduously to improve our diagnostic capacity, to identify patients with MDR-TB as well as ensure the availability of required drugs for their treatment.”
Dr Kabir, disclosing that only one centre at University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, was treating MDR-TB cases, stated that more centres were expected to start operation in Calabar, Lagos, Zaria and Kano before the end of 2012.
He attributed the delay in commencement of treatment for MDR-TB at other zones of the country to the difficult nature of diagnosing and treating this form of TB, its expensive cost as well as the required expertise to man such facilities.
Dr Kabir, while expressing his displeasure on people selling anti-TB drugs that were meant to be free, stated that the Health Minister, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu had written to the Inspector of police in order that punitive measures might be taken on the issue.
While declaring that Private-Public-Partnership was important in ensuring all cases of TB receive adequate care, he solicited for better documentation of TB distribution at the local government levels and health facilities to ensure adequate care is available for TB.
Dr Kabir advised persons with TB to ensure they adhere to their treatment while individuals protect themselves from contracting TB by living in well ventilated rooms, eating good diet, seeking medical care when coughing, shun smoking, maintain good hygiene as well as ensure that all babies receive the BCG vaccine to protect them from TB.
Currently, about 500,000 cases of MDR-TB cases occur yearly in the world and about 3 per cent are properly treated because diagnosis of MRD-TB is new and the required drugs are expensive.
Nigeria has the highest case of TB in Africa and it is estimated that about 450,000 new cases of TB occur yearly in Nigeria. However, only 94,000 of these TB cases were detected last year. Children and pregnant women are more vulnerable to contracting TB because of their immunity level.
http://tribune.com.ng/index.php/health-news/16707-7000-nigerians-have-difficulty-treating-tb-
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