Tuberculosis (TB) is growing at an alarming rate in Ghana in spite of awareness and treatment options in health facilities.
According to reports, Korle Bu Teaching Hospital alone records 15 TB cases a day and 30 people die of the disease every month.
Principal Nursing Officer at the Chest Unit of the Korle Teaching Hospital, Nelly Arthur, revealed this in an interview on Adom FM’s morning show, Dwaso Nsem Thursday.
She said though Ghana has made giant strides in TB measures to control TB, out of every 600 cases, 200 people die in a year.
She blamed the development on ignorance, poverty and stigmatisation of patients who refuse to seek early treatment.
She maintained that TB has a cure and so those with it should go for early treatment and seek counselling, which is free at all health facilities.
Madam Arthur added that the continuous supply of TB drugs has also contributed tremendously to the control of the disease but a few recalcitrant patients are refusing to take their drugs frequently creating resistant strains.
As the world marks World Tuberculosis Day, she called for a collective effort to eradicate the dreaded disease.
She said they will embark on awareness and prevention creation of the disease in the various communities to ensure the total eradication of TB in the country.
World Tuberculosis Day
World Tuberculosis Day, observed on 24 March each year, is designed to build public awareness about the global epidemic of tuberculosis and efforts to eliminate the disease. In 2018, 10 million people fell ill with TB, and 1.5 million died from the disease, mostly in low and middle-income countries.
Ghana will join the rest of the world to mark the day with a public campaign aimed at eradication of the disease.