20th March, 2018
Experts from numerous NGOs working to halt the spread of Tuberculosis (TB) in Nigeria has appealed for a robust strategy in the identification and treatment of missing cases of TB in Nigeria.
The stakeholders, including the National Tuberculosis Control Programme (NTCP), appealed to health workers to maintain high index of suspicion to reduce high number of missing cases of TB in the country.
Dr Ayodele Awe, National Chairman, World TB Day Planning Committee, made the appeal at a community outreach programme as part of the activities to commemorate World TB Day in Abuja.
The outreach programme was organised by the KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation in collaboration with the National Tuberculosis Control Programme.
He said KNCV Tuberculosis foundation with the support of US Agency for International Development (USAID) brought a vehicle christened ‘Wellness On Wheels’ (WOW) that was fully equipped with diagnostic materials to enhance TB case finding.
According to him, WOW is a TB diagnostic vehicle that has chest x-ray machine, and geneXpert machine, adding that geneXpert machine will detect the TB in the sputum within 100 minutes.
He said anybody diagnosed of TB will be enrolled into the treatment immediately.
However, Awe noted that low awareness, ignorance of the health workers to diagnose TB and misconception had been responsible for the regular missing cases of TB in Nigeria.
“We have observed that many TB cases are missed at hospitals because the index of suspicion among health workers at health facility was low.
“Some of the health workers at health facility, especially when one presents cough, they administer expectorant and Septrin and ask the patient to go without follow-up.
“We are asking health workers to increase high index of suspicion among health workers at private and public health facilities,’’ he said.
He said globally, the TB Day was earmarked to raise awareness on tuberculosis.
He added that in Nigeria, the National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Programme has lined up activities in commemoration of the day.
Awe said the 2018 World TB Day was special for the country because in 2017, the Minister of Health declared 2017 as the year of accelerated TB case finding.
He added that the accelerated TB case finding was aimed at detecting the missing cases of TB in Nigeria, stressing that the pronouncement by the minister has assisted the country to detect additional 20,000 TB cases in 2017.
“Due to the achievement recorded in 2017, government, partners and other key stakeholders were eager to celebrate the 2018 World TB Day with series of activities in commemoration of the day.
“Today, we are in Utako Park to sensitise the community on the need to access the screening and testing of TB,’’ he said.
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Speaking on behalf of partners, Dr Vivian Ibezeakwo, Programme Manager Drug Resistant TB, Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN), said IHVN has diagnosed about four per cent of the drug resistant TB in Nigeria.
Ibezeakwo said there are about 96 per cent of missing cases of drug resistant TB cases in Nigeria.
She said there were 20,000 estimated missing cases of drug resistant TB in Nigeria which are yet to be detected.
Ibezeakwo added that a lot of interventions were carried out to ensure that the missing cases of the drug resistant TB were reduced in the country, such as the increase of geneXpert machines.
The programme manager said no fewer than 1000 drug resistant TB were detected in 2017.
She urged the government, partners and other key stakeholders at all levels to scale-up commitment and services for drug resistant TB detection in Nigeria.
Nigeria has 390 geneXpert machines, which was allocated to half of the local governments in the country; this means that half of the local governments in the country did not have the geneXpert machine.
“The machine has been identified in the country as first point of TB diagnosis; so not having it at the point where it will be easily accessible is a major gap.
“We need the government to be more committed in providing more geneXpert machines for better TB treatment in the country,” she said.
Ibezeakwo also appealed for the establishment of more TB treatment centres especially multidrug resistant tuberculosis and training sensitisation of health care providers.