Dusty environment increases risk of TB

MR Ebenezer Tetteh, Municipal Disease Control Officer of the Tarkwa Municipality in the Western Region, says the increase in Tuberculosis (TB) cases within the area could largely be attributed to the dusty nature of the environment due to illegal mining.

He also mentioned poor housing and negative lifestyle of the people as another means through which Tuberculosis was gaining roots in the area.

This year alone, the municipality had recorded 50 new cases, with 20 of them being positive.

Mr Tetteh told the Ghana News Agency during an educational programme on Tuberculosis by KICK TB Ghana, to educate school children in the area to serve as ambassadors to the community.

He said the municipality had exceeded the national target of 86 cases per 100,000 population.

Mr George Kluborto, former Metropolitan SHEP Co-ordinator and a Team Member of KICK TB Ghana, said the disease continues to be life threatening, which needed urgent commitment from all and sundry to control it.

He said school children were being introduced to a new method of prevention, which is the use of the arm, instead of the palm, to cover mouths when coughing or sneezing.