The Monitoring and Evaluation Officer of the Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Programme in the state, Mr Yohanna Bot, disclosed this in Jos at the first bi-annual media-focused advocacy meeting on the Global Fund AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Integrated Community-Led Monitoring, ICLM, Project.
Bot said, ‘TB remains a significant public health crisis in Plateau State. We all know that tuberculosis is an airborne disease, and from the prevalence in the state, we have a lot of people who have TB because of the lifestyle we live and the places we visit.’
‘Based on the prevalence rate of 219 per 100,000 population, we have over 11,000 people with TB in the state. We just completed our quarterly survey, and from the analysis, we discovered that between July and September, 2,047 patients were identified and placed on treatment,’ he added.
According to him, ‘The spread is driven by the airborne nature of the bacteria and exacerbated by malnutrition, advanced age, weakened immune systems, particularly among children under five and people living with HIV, as well as overcrowding.’
He further said, ‘Other risk factors are associated with stigma and misconceptions, as many residents still hold false beliefs, including attributing TB to spiritual or ritual causes.
The Plateau State Programme Officer of the Global Fund AIDS, TB and Malaria Integrated Community-Led Monitoring Project, Mr Peter Ezekiel, noted that, ‘Nigeria is ranked first in Africa and sixth globally among countries with a high burden of tuberculosis and TB/HIV co-infection.’
‘The country also has the world’s highest number of people affected by malaria and the world’s second-largest HIV/AIDS burden. There is a high occurrence of malaria and TB co-infection among people living with HIV. Co-infection can make a disease more severe and potentially more infectious,’ he added.