Where is this photo from? Jekezia Njikizana
Tuberculosis is curable with diligent treatment
Tuberculosis (TB) is the second deadliest disease after Covid-19 for the world and kills 1.5 million pesins every year worldwide.
Rivers State Tuberculosis and Leprosy Program Manager Dr Victor Oris-Onyiri says Covid-19 pandemic is affecting TB response globally because all focus on Covid-19 and so most of the diagnostic machines that they use for tuberculosis, they convert into a test for Covid-19.
In addition, the lockdown for many countries prevents many TB patients from receiving dia treatment and also affects the diagnosis of new cases, so many are not treated, but this is not the case for the Rivers State.
Dr Oris-Onyiri says they expect the Covid-19 pandemic crisis to affect evritin so they are planning ahead and one of them is helping them get good results.
Dr Oris-Onyiri says “we plan to say that TB health workers for local governments and communities will do regular house-to-house checks and tests and test over 98,000 pesins last year and more than 8000 positive test pesins with a 92% success rate.
Na only Rivers gets this kind of result, but we still need to do more work as Nigeria records over 200,000 cases of TB infections. »
Rivers State Ministry of Health Permanent Secretary Dr Chikanele Utchay said Rivers State is not exceeding the state global fund target of 168% with a pass rate of 92% in the treatment of tuberculosis for 2021, but that 9,000 infected pesins are still missing and that they feed the infection for the communities.
Dr Utchay says he aims to reduce the incidence of TB from 219 in 100,000 to just one in 100,000.
She adds saying the performance for 2021 gives them hope to say they will be able to achieve one by 2028 if evribodi works togeda.
“With diligent treatment, I survive tuberculosis”
Victor Hart fully recovers from tuberculosis
Victor Hart, 25, of Bonny, TB survivor. I tell BBC Pidgin say na for 2017 I am starting to have symptoms like severe cough and weight loss. When we go for a sputum test, we come out positive for tuberculosis.
The disease, according to Hart, is affecting my fashion design business as I haven’t worked for over a year, but with diligent treatment I made a full recovery and am now tuberculosis free.
“I am under 20 months of treatment. I take injections every day for 8 months and medicine for 20 months, but in the end I thank God that I am not completely cured. I am doing an anode test and I show that I am free from tuberculosis”, I am tac.
Six tips for surviving TB
Director of Di State’s Tuberculosis Control Program, Dr. Oris-Onyiri, said tuberculosis was curable and patients did not need to die in the morning. I give some tips for surviving to include:
- Strict adherence to TB treatment. Say na because if TB patients don’t follow and take dia drugs, they develop resistance. But if they strictly take dia drugs, they fully recover within six months, and some countries do a four-month treatment.
- Early diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis. If TB cases occur late, treatment will not be as effective because if TB does not damage some internal organs, the drugs will only kill the microorganisms, but the organ damage will not be resolved.
- Good nutrition. Take di medication with good food.
- Actively screen people living with HIV for TB so that they can receive treatment for latent TB, as TB is not a disease that HIV patients commonly contract.
- Vaccination. Make sure children get the BCG vaccine as it protects against tuberculosis.
- Find pipo with TB for the community and treat them early because the community is therefore safe from TB. Door-to-door testing is an effective way to check the spread of TB in the community.
What is tuberculosis?
Tuberculosis mycobacteria cause this chronic disease that affects the lungs and people with tuberculosis and transmits them through the air to odas if they cough, sneeze, shout, laugh or sing.
Signs and symptoms of tuberculosis include a long cough, excessive sweating, weight loss, coughing up blood, chest pain, and fever.
Nigeria ranks first in Africa and 6th in the world among the countries most affected by tuberculosis.
The World Health Organization (WHO) does not have a 2030 goal of eliminating TB globally and calls on stakeholders to join the association “Investing to end TB and save lives” and to propose the theme for World Tuberculosis Day 2022.