Posted on: Thu 15-04-2021

The National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Programme (NTBLCP) has raised the alarm over the significantly higher incidence of tuberculosis over COVID-19 in the nation, killing 157, 680 Nigerians yearly.

The NTBLCP and Advocacy, Communication and Social Mobilisation (ACSM) Focal Person, Mrs. Jumoke Adebari, disclosed this, yesterday, during a one-day virtual media training for journalists in Ondo and Ekiti states.

She noted that tuberculosis is one of the top 10 causes of death worldwide, adding that it is caused by mycobacterium tuberculosis that affects mainly the lungs but may affect any other parts of the body.

Adebari, who lamented that based on 2020 WHO Global Tuberculosis Report, that Nigeria was classified among the 14 countries with high burden of tuberculosis, which is an airborne disease caused by germs, said 18 Nigerians die of tuberculosis every hour.

MEANWHILE, the Ondo State Co-ordinator of Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Programme (OD-STBLCP), Dr. Oluwafemi Aina, has reiterated the readiness of the agency to synergise with other relevant duty bearers to tackle the disease.

Aina, therefore, urged people across the 18 local councils of the state to visit the TB centres in their areas whenever they sense the symptoms and also desist from stigmatisation of TB victims.

Source: Guardian

---

---