The Programme Manager of the National Tuberculosis Control Programme, Dr. Frank Bonsu, has warned that Ghanaians stand the risk of contracting tuberculosis with the over consumption of cow meat from uncertified sources.

According to Dr Bonsu, recent studies have shown that tens of thousand of cattle slaughtered tested for biovine tuberculosis, an infectious disease that affect the lungs of the animals which could be transmitted to humans when consumed.

He therefore asked Ghanaians to “desist from drinking unpasteurised milk and buying meat from uncertified places.”

He further called on stakeholders to enforce stricter monitoring of abattoirs in the country to ensure that meats sold to the public were wholesome for consumption.

Dr Bonsu gave the caution in Accra yesterday when he launched the World TB Day which falls on March 24 on the theme, “Unite To End TB.”

He explained that the prevalence of tuberculosis had shot up globally to be the 6th killer disease, adding that in Ghana, the disease claims about 9000 lives annually, with 20 people dying of the disease everyday.

“Out of these numbers, 33 per cent of them are women; 10 per cent are children and the rest are men. Statistics also show that the prevalence is high among the aged, between 65 to 74 years, who die of this infectious disease which is four times higher than the numbers we expect in a year, indicating that as a country we are taking TB for granted,” he stated.

He attributed the high prevalence to environmental factors including urbanisation, overcrowding, poor ventilation and issues of stigmatization, which mostly dissuade people from reporting early to health facilities for treatment.



Dr Bonsu said it was necessary that government took the ‘leadership role’ in ending the disease in the country, by allocating more resources to create awareness on TB to ensure zero deaths of persons infected with the disease.

The National TB Ambassador, Eunabobrim Prah Agyensaim VI, bemoaned the myths and derogatory stories that surround the disease and leads many infected people to their early grave.

He said his vision as national ambassador was to raise awareness on TB to make Ghanaians more knowledgeable about the disease and to offer immediate help to infected persons to protect the human resource capacity of the country.

He urged the media and corporate organisations to help the fight against TB, saying “we are all at risk of contracting this deadly disease and we must put hands together to end it by the 2025 global TB target year.”

World Tuberculosis Day is a worldwide event that aims to raise public awareness of tuberculosis, its causes and prevention to ensure that the World is free of the disease.

TB is an infectious bacterial disease caused by mycobacterium tuberculosis which mostly affects the lungs and it is spread through the air when an infected person coughs, sneezes, talks, spits or sings.

The disease is curable when detected early and its symptoms include fever, weight loss, night sweats, tiredness and loss of appetite.