The Oyo State Government has offered free screening and treatment for individuals with a persistent cough suspected to be Tuberculosis (TB).
The screening of the residents in the state was in commemoration with the 2018 World Tuberculosis Day, with the theme “Find and notify all TB cases in Nigeria”
The state Commissioner Dr Adeduntan Azeez said on Saturday that the free screening and treatment initiative of the state administration is to reduce the spread of TB in the society, noting that all health facilities in the 33 Local Government Areas and 35 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) have been mandated and mobilised to effectively carry out TB screening and treatment.
March 24 of every year is a day set aside by the World Health Organization which has been recongised since 1882 as the World Tuberculosis Day.
Tuberculosis is a disease that affects all ages and kills nearly 500 people every day due to lack of access to treatment.
Dr Adeduntan added that over 10.4 million people had TB death in 2017 and there were 1.8 million TB deaths in 2016 making it the top infectious killer disease worldwide.
“Nigeria is ranked 5th among the 22 Countries of the world with highest TB burden coming up from previous 4th position in 2010.
“This is the result of scale up and expansion of TB treatment centre as an implementation strategy across all states in Nigeria”.
He allayed the fears that Individuals suffering from TB need not be isolated once they are on treatment but should be encouraged by the community to attend clinic regularly, as tuberculosis can be completely cured provided the treatment started early and drugs are taken regularly for the stipulated length of time required.
The Commissioner reiterated on the need to create a neat and healthier environment in the state, saying that the state government will continue to prioritise cleanliness of its environment.
