COVID-19: Bauchi residents scared away from tuberculosis test – BACATMA chairman

The Executive Chairman, Bauchi State Agency for the Control of HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Leprosy and Malaria, (BACATMA), Dr Sani Muhammad Damba, has disclosed that many tuberculosis patients and people with consistent cough lasting for months in the State have continued to shun hospitals for fear of being diagnosed of Covid-19.

Dr Dambam disclosed this to journalists in Bauchi at an event commemorating this year’s World Tuberculosis Day in Bauchi.

According to him, following the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic, people were afraid to report suspected tuberculosis cases to treatment centres in the State.

Dr Dambam disclosed that despite the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic in the State, BACATMA had continued to attend and treat patients across the state, revealing that 4,430 cases were recorded in the State in 2020.

“In 2020, Bauchi State recorded and notified 4,430 drug susceptible TB cases. Ninety-three percent of cases were treated successfully,” the BACATMA boss revealed.

He also revealed that the agency had recorded tremendous breakthroughs in terms of control of tuberculosis across all the 20 local governments areas of the State, adding that BACATMA had 570 free tuberculosis treatment centres across the State, in addition to 127 TB Diagnostic Centres.

Dambam said that the agency had procured 12 GeneXpert machines for tuberculosis treatment, adding that BACATMA was harnessing resources to reach those at highest risk of the disease.

“BACATMA has procured 12 GeneXpert machines for treating both drug sensitive TB bacteria and drug resistant variant of the bacteria responsible causing multi-drug resistant form of TB.

“BACATMA is harnessing resources to create the needed effort to reach those at highest risk for TB and to identify and implement innovative strategies to improve testing and treatment among high risks populations,” he said.

He lamented that the Covid-19 pandemic had made global healthcare providers and donors to shift their attention from tuberculosis, saying that this had created an unfavorable condition in the fight against the bacteria.

COVID-19: Bauchi residents scared away from tuberculosis test – BACATMA chairman