Pastors asked to stop worshippers from waving handkerchiefs

Ho, May 20, GNA- Mr Winnard Klu, the Ho Municipal Tuberculosis (TB) Coordinator of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), on Thursday urged Church leaders to prevail on their members to desist from waving handkerchiefs during church services.

This is because "waving of handkerchiefs, can spread TB and other air borne diseases", he said.

Mr Klu made the call during a training workshop for 20 community health volunteers in Ho.

The workshop organized by Future Generations International (FUGI) is to train volunteers to help identify TB cases in their communities and to educate the communities on TB prevention.

Mr Klu warned of the increased number of TB cases in Ho stating that though the total recorded cases in the Volta Region had dropped from 1,575 in 2009 to 1,390 in 2010, statistics showed that the disease had increased from 153 in 2009 to 196 in 2010 in the Ho Municipality.

He advised the general public to stop stigmatizing people with symptoms of TB as that could deter them from seeking early treatment.

Mr Klu urged opinion leaders in the Ho Municipality to join the campaign against TB by helping to identify patients.

Mr Stephen Kwame Awunyo-Akaba, Deputy Executive Director of FUGI, said TB remained a major concern to the Ghana Health Service because it spreads easily.