No fewer than 20 patients access Gombe facilities for Tuberculosis diagnosis and treatment daily, with about 130 cases recorded since January 2022.
According to Abare Ayuba, the coordinator of Tuberculosis unit at the State Specialist Hospital, Gombe, the facility is equipped with drugs and requisite tools to care for patients with such cases.
Ayuba made this disclosure on Thursday, during the commemoration of 2022 World TB Day, themed, “Invest to end TB. Save lives,” adding that over 130 persons have been diagnosed since January.
The date marks the day in 1882 when Dr. Robert Koch announced that he had discovered the bacterium that causes TB, which opened the way towards diagnosing and curing the disease.
World TB Day creates an opportunity to focus on the people affected by the disease and to call for accelerated action to end TB suffering and deaths, especially in the midst of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
He said, “Since January to date, more than 130 people have been diagnosed with the disease, and we receive about 20 patients daily.
“The facility is equipped with drugs and testing tools to take care of such demands.”
On his part, the State Project Manager, Mustapha Musa, said treatment of TB cases are free, adding that mortality is on the increase.
Musa said, “That mortality rate is very high and worst amongst patients who are immunocompromised from whatever cause. However, treatment is available and is for free.
“We all have a role to play to reduce morbidity and mortality from Tuberculosis if we can only make a conscious effort to check that cough. To check, all you need is to submit your sputum in the laboratory.”
