Oyo – Oyo State government said on Thursday that 11,817 tuberculosis patients were diagnosed and placed on treatment in Oyo State in 2021.
The state Commissioner for Health, Dr Taiwo Ladipo made this disclosure at the media briefing and flag-off of the community outreach on Tuberculosis for the year 2022 World TB day commemoration in Ibadan.
Ladipo stated that Oyo state is the 13th highest-burden state for tuberculosis in Nigeria , saying that the state in 2021 alone registered 11,817 patients for treatment.
According to him, 388 of them had comorbidities of HIV and TB, signifying that the disease still exists in our communities and should be combated.
“This occasion seeks to educate the public about the impact of tuberculosis around the world, and create awareness on the need to go for screening if there is the persistent cough of two weeks and or more,” he said.
The Commissioner stated that the Oyo State government in its efforts to rid the state of the disease offered free treatment to patients in 564 health facilities across the state.
The state, he said has the best diagnostic equipment for tuberculosis in the country.
He implored those suffering from persistent cough for at least two weeks and noticing symptoms of tuberculosis to come out for free screening and free treatment being offered by the government.
” The battle against the scourge of this disease is collective. It starts with you and I. Enlightenment in all our communities is the first step to attaining global goal eradication of tuberculosis,” he said.
Cluster Consultant at World Health Organisation, Dr Dare Marcus, in a goodwill message on behalf of all partners working on tuberculosis in the state said as at the time that the germ that causes tuberculosis was discovered , three out of every seven infected persons eventually died.
According to Marcus, individuals and government should invest in curtailing the spread of the disease by sensitising people in their community about tuberculosis and put it under close surveillance for early detection and diagnosis.
He then pledged the continuous support of WHO and other partners to the government in its efforts to end the disease in the country.
