By CHIEDU UCHE OKOYE

Prof. Nnamdi Onyire, Chairman of the Obosi Development Union (ODU) Committee on Health and Longevity, has described tuberculosis (TB), with which countless people are afflicted, globally, as a curable disease, and not a death sentence.

He made the comment at the event organised by ODU Committee on Health and Longevity to commemorate World Tuberculosis Day, which took place at Obosi, Anambra state on March 24.

Onyire, a professor of paediatrics at Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, said that TB is a treatable disease and advised parents to ensure that their children are given BCG vaccination to prevent them from contracting the disease.

He, also, advised people not to use antibiotics to treat cough when they're not prescribed by medical doctors, warning that doing that may cause drug-resistant TB in people.

"TB is a completely curable disease.

"But I am advising people to put a stop to treating cough with antibiotics when they're not recommended by doctors.

"Doing that would cause drug-resistant TB.

"Again, every child must receive BCG, a vaccine that prevents people from contracting TB," Onyire said.

Speaking further, Onyire blamed the resurgence of TB among us on the increasing number of people, who live with HIV/AIDS, saying that people who are HIV positive have reduced immunity, which makes them susceptible to contracting TB.

More so, Prof. Onyire, who advised people whose cough had lasted for two or more weeks to get tested as it could be TB, explained that TB is an airborne disease.

"TB is an airborne disease; and, as such, people ought to cover their mouths when they cough. They should stay in well-ventilated houses, too.

"And they should visit hospitals for medical tests if their cough has lasted for more than two weeks, as it could be TB," Onyire said.

In her own comment, the vice chairman of ODU committee on health and longevity, Prof. Amaka Onubogu, lamented that Nigeria has the highest incidence of TB cases in Africa.

"Nigeria is one of the eight countries world-wide that has the highest burden of TB, and is in in fact highest in Africa," Onubogu said.

But there is light at the end of the tunnel regarding the eradication of TB in Nigeria, what with Nigeria partnering with global health organizations to check the TB pandemic.

And the commemoration of the World Tuberculosis Day on every March 24 offers medical practitioners the opportunity to educate people on how to avoid contracting tuberculosis and on ways to access effective treatment for it.