Tuberculosis kills ‘over 162,000’ Nigerians annually

The Nigerian Thoracic Society (NTS) says tuberculosis kills over 162, 000 people in the country annually.

Prince Ele, president of NTS, said no fewer than 430, 000 people fall ill with the disease in the country every year.

He said tuberculosis remains the world’s deadliest infectious killer and global efforts to combat the disease had saved millions of lives in Nigeria and globally since 2000.

Ele lamented that in spite of strong commitments made by world leaders, all efforts to end the disease had been overtaken as countries grappled with the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said the theme of World TB Day 2021, ‘The Clock is ticking’, was quite apt, considering the current global health and economic challenges.

The NTS president urged the government at all levels in the country and other world leaders to ensure that TB receives the necessary attention as the world’s number one infectious killer disease.

“We in the Nigerian Thoracic Society are not oblivious of the current challenges our health authorities are contending with due to COVID-19,” he said.

“We encourage full participation of our members in all local awareness campaign; we emphasise the need to constantly observe all COVID-19 preventive protocols.”