TUBERCULOSIS NOT A DIABOLICAL DISEASE, IT’S AIRBORNE AND CURABLE -EXPERT

Photo: Participants and Resource persons at the seminar on tuberculosis in Owerri.

From Everest Ezihe, Owerri

Against the traditional belief especially in South East Nigeria that tuberculosis (Ukwara Nta) is mythically a diabolical disease and incurable-Dr. Charles Okafor, an expert in the identification, diagnosis and treatment of the disease says the belief is untrue but rather an airborne disease, curable and its treatment free.

Okafor who is the Programme Manager for Tuberculosis and Leprosy of Imo State Ministry of Health disclosed this during a one day well attended interactive workshop programme, organized by the Ministry in collaboration with Non Governmental Organizations (NGO), USAID Breakthrough ACTION Nigeria and KNCV Nigeria for selected media practitioners in Imo State.

The Medical Expert who also revealed that there are treatment centres in every autonomous community, ward and local government headquarters in Imo State with trained personnels handling the patients, however lamented that lack of adequate funding as the bane for adequate eradication of the disease and passionate called for an improved funding.

He pointed out that tuberculosis (TB) though an airborne transmitted disease and that patients are no longer quarantined for 6 months due to advanced scientific improvement on their drugs and assured that any early dictation with adequate treatment, within 2 weeks, the patient can no longer transmit the disease and would be healthy but must be religiously complete the treatment dosages for an effective cure.

The expert further informed that untreated tuberculosis could led to an advanced tuberculosis which said is more dangerous and takes time to cure, this he canvassed on the need for patients to regularly make use of Health Centres and hospitals for proper sickness diagnosis, identifications and treatment.

Mrs. Amaka Chizoma, the officer in charge of Advocacy, Communication and Social Mobilization, Imo State Tuberculosis Programme highlighted the objectives of the training to includes, increase media personnel knowledge on TB disease and control efforts in Nigeria and improved quality of media reporting on the infectious disease.

Other objectives she said are: building capacity of media personnels on human centered reporting and strengthen linkage between the media and TB team.

Chizoma also enlisted basic facts about TB and its control efforts which confirmed that TB is air borne disease which is more common among Nigeria men than women.

She further informed that tuberculosis of the lung is the most predominate even as, it can occur in any parts of the body while x-raying the 4 basic symptoms that are used in identifying and screening patients.

These basic symptoms she said includes, cough (2 weeks) duration or more, persistent low fever, night sweats and unexplained weight loss, alerting that untreated case of patient can infect an average of 10-15 persons in a year.
The senior officer identified the most risk factors identified to be associated with those contacting the disease to include: Malnutrition among adults and children, HIV and diabetic patients are well as those who have close contacts with a person with undiagnosed TB sickness.
The workshop said that based on the inimical problem of the disease, scientists have equally proffered means on how to diagnose the infectious disease which is mainly sputum test for pulmonary TB, Chest X-ray and stool test for children.
They indentified the most efficient and effective treatment of TB to be oral medication for minimum of 6 months, assuring that a person on consistent TB medications for at least 2 weeks is immune to infect others.
They noted that drug resistant TB only occurs when TB treatment is not well adhered to or when someone is infected directly by someone with drug resistant TB.
The group said that they employ strategic intervention to arrest the prevalent of TB within their case study areas to include active case search for TB patients in communities through house to house TB case finding and community outreach.

That they religiously involved people in private sectors, making profits, faith based, stand alone laboratories, patent medicine vendors etc as well as active case finding among vulnerable populations like the nomads IDP Camps and with symptomatic screening of children at maternal neonatal child health clinics, outpatient department attendees for TB.
The programme officer said it point black that they are also committed to increase access to diagnostic examinations (GeneXpert, Truent, TB Lamp) and contact tracing of TB patients.
It is equally strategically important that they placed qualified contacts on preventing therapy, creation of massive and community structure; even as they have uncompromising status in their advocacy approaches to stakeholders in order to garner their support for TB contact efforts.
Contributing, Mrs. Cecilia Kafran, the Assistant Programme Officer, USAID Breakthrough Action-Nigeria (BA-N) expressed worries on childhood tuberculosis, noting children who are at risk of getting TB as those living with adults who have TB, children who are HIV positive and children who are malnourished.
Kafran gave suggestive signs and symptoms of TB in children to include failure to thrive or gain weight, persistent fever for two weeks or more, coughing for two weeks or more and close contact with anyone having TB for instance caregivers, nannies etc.
She revealed the frantic efforts National Tuberculosis Burouli Ulcer and Leprosy Control Programme (NTBLCP) in Nigeria is doing to control TB in children to include rapid diagnostic tests for TB in children, stool for Xpert, Truant, TB Lamo, urine lateral-flow lipoarabinomannan advanced disease.
According to her “they seriously embarks on active TB case finding through outreaches in communities across the 27 council areas in Imo State and 24 States of the Federation, task shifting for other Health Care Workers, HCW to diagnosis child TB in hard to reach areas, support for contact investigation (CI) of diagnosed TB cases, training children and free chest X-ray and transport vouchers to support child TB diagnosis”.
They expressed worries on the challenges with childhood TB control which includes: Low childhood TB awareness among the general population, poor health seeking behavior, stigma and discrimination, limited media engagement in TB awareness creation, low index of suspicion for child TB by health care providers as well as low funding for childhood TB control.
Mrs. Nkoyo Umoh, the Programmes Officer Social Behavior Change-USAID Breakthrough ACTION Nigeria tasks the media on the Social responsibilities towards Child TB control, according to her, it includes, “Nigeria Media Sensitization of the general population on child TB, human stripes to make people connect and take action. Develop and air contents to despite stigma and discrimination of TB affected individuals and families. For more funding for childhood TB control” She pleads.
Speaking earlier, Mrs. Cecilia Kafran, The Assistant Programme Officer of USAID Breakthrough Action- Nigeria, (BA-N) canvassed the ways and means of preventing and treatment of TB.
Kafran advised people to always avoid crowded environments, maintain good cough etiquette; cough inside the elbow or into disposable tissue paper or handkerchief and avoid spitting indiscriminately.
She seriously opined the need to early detection and treatment of TB cases noting that all eligible contacts, especially children must be put on TB Preventive Treatment (TPT).
The programme officer described TPT as the medications given to treat TB infection so as to prevent it from progressing into active TB disease.
Kafran further informed that TPT is given to people who are at high risk of developing TB, such persons includes persons with lower immunity, like person living with HIV (PLHIV), children, older persons etc saying that TPT medication is for prevention while anti-TB medication is for cure.
She pointed out that TPT combined with prevention is more effective even as she also said that the essence of TB Preventive Treatment (TPT) is because the medicines given are to prevent TB disease, thus why, it is given only to people infected or exposed and at higher risk so as to eliminate TB bacilli before illness occur, but however, when there is active TB disease TPT will not work.
The programme Officer passionately hinted the essence of TPT is to jettison high risk of TB especially from PLHIV and contacts as they generally have 20-25 time chances of been exposed to higher risk of TB, than the general population and the risk of progression from LTBI to active TB is 10% per a year in PLHIV as TB is the major leading factor that cause death of PLHIV.
That the effectiveness of TBT is justified by its proven reduction in mortality and active TB, especially when PLHIV and controls take TPT, as it is 60-90% effective in preventing TB.
Kafran further point out that TPT risk of side effects is low when compared to the risk of having TB.
The programme officer while discussing about the treatment of TB, informed that “that treatment of Drug Sensitive TB is for 6 months for all types except for TB of the bone/joint, brain meninges and miliary TB that are 12 months.
“It is important to note that the drugs used to treat adults are similar to those used to treat children, however the doses differ” she assured.
Dr. Golibe Ugochukwu, Senior Program Officer, KNCV Nigeria in his presentations reiterated that TB is curable disease even though there are drugs resistant TB.
Ugochukwu described Drug Resistant Tuberculosis as resistance to two or more drugs used in the management of tuberculosis.
He explained that the diagnosis of the Drug Resistant mycobacterium is done using the Gene X-pert machines which he also confirmed to be available in every state of the Federation and that the treatment now is based on oral medication unlike the injections treatment being used in years past.
The Senior Programme Officer also assured that total recovery is possible so far there is compliance to treatment advice as the key to the total recovery.
He emphasized that the essence of the advocacy and sensitization is to prevent TB, and if prevention fails, treat promptly and properly to avoid DRTB, disability and death.