The Wife of the President, Aisha Muhammadu Buhari, has called on Nigerians to go for Tuberculosis (TB) test, saying it’s one of the world’s most deadly diseases.
Aisha, who is a TB Ambassador, said the clearest danger signal was two weeks of uninterrupted cough, and confirmed that the disease was treatable and curable.
The president wife, in a statement by her spokesperson, Suleiman Haruna, said with proper diagnosis and treatment, patients can overcome the disease and live normal lives.
“We should not be caught unawares. Once you notice a cough that has refused to go after two weeks, visit a health facility and consult a doctor,” she said.
She spoke during an outreach programme at Kpebi village, Kuruduma on the fringes of the Federal Capital Territory, organized by her office in collaboration with National TB and Leprosy Control Programme.
She said treatment for TB was free and called on citizens to take advantage of the screening going on in health facilities across the country, so that if found to be positive, they can be quickly diagnosed and placed on treatment.
The minister of State for Health, Prof Osagie Ehanire, said TB is spread through coughing and sneezing in overcrowded, poorly ventilated spaces.
He described the disease as a leading cause of death in the world as 1.6 million people died of TB in 2017 alone.
He described silence by victims as the main problem of fighting the disease as 300,000 cases went undetected in 2017.
Earlier, Dr. Lawanson Adebola, National Coordinator, TB and Leprosy Control Programme said the outreach was organized as part of activities to mark the World TB Day, which comes up on Sunday, 24th March, 2019.
The District Head of Kpebi, High Chief Audu Kaura, welcomed guests to his village, while a TB survivor, Mr. Abubakar Bala spoke on his experiences living with the disease.
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