By Chidi Matthew Nwachukwu

The chairman of the FCT chapter of the Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria, APCN, Mr. Enejo Amade, has said that the pharmaceutical body in Nigeria is winning the war against tuberculosis. He made the disclosure in Abuja during this year’s celebration of World Tuberculosis Day which holds globally on the 25th of March.

He stated that between last year and now, the number of adherents to tuberculosis prevention measures in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, has increased by over a hundred thousand, adding that the figures were computed through the Association’s monthly outreaches in the communities where its members practice.

“Our monthly outreaches in the communities where we practice are having real impact on the people as they now report more cases of tuberculosis than they were doing before now. This is a clear sign that we are winning the war against tuberculosis. In our clime, there is little or no information about tuberculosis, but we are hopeful that as we continue to reach out to the people and sensitize them on the disease, we will record a lot more reduction in the cases of tuberculosis,” said Amade.

Amade also warned against lifestyles that promote tuberculosis such as smoking and living in crowded and unventilated areas.

Also speaking at the event was the vice chairman of APCN, FCT, Mr. Aloba Olatunji who stated that the public perception about tuberculosis is very erroneous as many people tend to attribute tuberculosis-related symptoms to spiritual problems. He therefore advised that people should always report health-related issues to hospitals and not assume them to be spiritual problems. He added that APCN is intensifying its sensitization campaigns to create more awareness and ensure that the people are rightly guided on issues such as this.

“You will see a lot of deaths that are caused by tuberculosis infection that are attributed to spiritual problems. They will notice that somebody is fine and well, and within two or three days that they start coughing and coughing out sputum with clots of blood, they will quickly attribute it to spiritual attack because they are not aware of the symptoms of tuberculosis. This is the reason why we are intensifying our sensitization campaigns,” said Olatunji.

Olatunji further hinted that tuberculosis has different variants such as tuberculosis of the blood and tuberculosis of the skin which are equally as dangerous as the tuberculosis of the lungs that is more common, and warned that people who have been coughing for more than a month should quickly go for tuberculosis tests and ensure to get medical aid.

“Tuberculosis is so deadly that we have tuberculosis of the blood, tuberculosis of the skin. It is not only in the lungs that you can have tuberculosis. People should always go for a check when they begin to cough for a long time and adhere to the medications prescribed by medical experts. If you adhere to your medication for the first three months, the micro-bacteria that cause tuberculosis would have been enervated and dead, and you wouldn’t be able to transmit it to somebody else. The remaining medication is just for you to complete the dosage,” stated Olatunji.