Ghanaians urged to test for Tuberculosis

Dr Rita Patricia Frimpong Amenyo, Deputy Programmes Manager for the Ghana National Tuberculosis Control Programme, has advised Ghanaians to frequently visit the various health facilities to know their TB status.

Dr Amenyo noted that a pilot programme conducted by the Ghana Health Service on people who had reported some form of coughing at one particular health facility in the Greater Accra Region between January 1 and March 22, 2021, showed that out of the 201 samples taken, four were diagnosed for having contracted the coronavirus and 19 tested positive for Tuberculosis, a situation she said was very alarming.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency at Ashiaman near Tema, on the sideline of an event to mark the 2021 world Tuberculosis day in Ashaiman, Dr Amenyo explained that in 2020 Ghana was able to detect 12,443 TB cases instead of the yearly target of 44,000 cases.

According to her, it means that only 28 per cent of the TB cases were detected, adding that the remaining 72 per cent might be living with the fatal infection in the various communities and maybe spreading it.

Dr Amenyo said as part of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), it was required by the country to reduce drastically the TB burden by 2030 amongst other infectious diseases.

She appealed to the government and other benevolent organization as a matter of urgency to provide TB diagnostic machines.

She explained that currently, only 142 Gene expect Machines for TB diagnostics were available for use in the various districts, adding that 264 Gene expect machines would be enough for all the district to combat the TB effectively.

‘Treatment for tuberculosis in Ghana comes with no cost at all,” she said.

The 2021 World Tuberculosis day was marked on the Theme: “The Clock is ticking to reach the TB target 2035.”