By Kemi Olatunde

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 The need for more enlightenment on Tuberculosis (TB) among residents of Ondo State has been stressed.

Director, Public Health, Ministry of Health, Dr. Stephen Fagbemi spoke while while delivering his welcome address at a one-day TB media personnel refresher training organised by Breakthrough Action Nigeria in collaboration with the Ministry in Akure.

According to him, TB has killed and ruined a lot of lives due to the inability of patients to get themselves treated, noting that it is treated in all health facilities across the state.

While expressing appreciation to the media for changing lives through reportage, he called on participants to do their best in educating residents on the disease.

State TB Programme Manager, Mrs Foyinsola Olumagba in her presentation described TB as an airborne disease that is more common in men than women in Nigeria.

Noting that TB of the lung is the most common type, she stated that an untreated case can infect an average of 10 to 15 people in a year, adding that symptoms used to screen patients include; cough (two weeks duration or more), fever, night sweat and unexplained weight loss.

She explained that it can be deadly if incubated for long without treatment, calling on all to watch out for TB patients and report such to the nearest health facility in the state.

Drug Resistant TB Focal Person in the state, Mrs Olofinsao Adedolapo while speaking on childhood TB, noted that children living with adult TB patients, HIV positive children and malnourished children are at risk.

She explained that federal government has put in place measures to control it in children including rapid diagnostic tests for TB in children, active TB case findings in communities across 24 states, task shifting for other health care workers to diagnose child TB in hard reach areas and support for contact investigation of diagnosed TB cases among others.

She called for regular media sensitisation of residents on it adding that the media should also advocate for more funding for childhood TB control.