Oyo State government has offered free screening and treatment in health facilities.
They are meant for individuals with persistent cough suspected to be Tuberculosis (TB).
Health Commissioner Dr. Azeez Adeduntan, who spoke at the weekend in Ibadan at an event to commemorate the 2018 World Tuberculosis Day, with the theme: “Find and notify all TB cases in Nigeria”, said the free screening and treatment initiative of the Governnor Abiola Ajimobi administration was to reduce the spread of TB.
He said health facilities in the 33 local governments and 35 local council development areas (LCDAs) had been mandated and mobilised to carry out TB screening and treatment.
The commissioner advised individuals with persistent coughing to visit health facilities for check-up, saying the most common symptom of tuberculosis was persistent cough lasting two weeks or more, accompanied by fever, night sweat, weight loss, chest pain, loss of appetite, coughing up of blood mixed with sputum and tiredness.
He said the spread of TB could be attributed to living in an overcrowded environment, poor hygienic conditions, indiscriminate spitting of sputum and poor cough etiquette, malnutrition, HIV/AIDS, diabetes mellitus and smoking.
Ajimobi said every March 24 was set aside by the World Health Organisation since 1882 as the World Tuberculosis Day when Dr. Robert kochs announced the discovery of the germ mycobacterium tuberculosis that caused tuberculosis disease.
He stressed that TB was a contagious disease that affected all ages and killed nearly 5,000 people everyday worldwide due to lack of access to treatment.
