Forty-six Tuberculosis cases detected in Sunyani Municipality in 2011

Dr Mrs. Paulina Appiah, Sunyani Municipal Director of Health Services at the weekend disclosed that 46 cases of Tuberculosis (TB) were detected in the Municipality in 2011.

She made this known at the launching of the Municipal celebration of the World TB Day at Abesim, near Sunyani.

The theme for this year’s TB Day is: “Call for a World Free of TB” with the slogan “Stop TB in my Lifetime”.

Dr. Appiah explained that the commemoration of the TB day held in March 24 every year was to create awareness on the prevention, detection and curability of the disease”.

She was not happy about the few cases detected during the year under review, saying the National TB Control Programme expected the Municipality to detect 152 cases.

Dr. Appiah expressed worry about the municipality’s TB treatment success rate of 82 percent last year, as compared to the national target of 85 percent and the death rate of eight percent, as against the national target of five percent.

She noted that the TB related death rate in the municipality “is unacceptable because TB is curable”.

The Municipal Health Director stated that Ghana recorded 15,842 TB cases, representing 4.6 percent last year, stressing that, women accounted for 5,778 of notified TB as against 64 percent of their male counterparts of 10,064.

Dr. Appiah said treatment success in the country was 85.3 percent while patients defaulting from treatment were three percent with death rate at 7.6 percent.

“We have not fared well this year either, after having gone half year we have detected only 15 new cases, with two deaths” she said adding that, five new cases had been detected at Abesim.

She emphasized the importance to intensify education on the causes and symptoms of the disease saying “TB is curable and the full cost of the treatment is free”.

Mr. Kwasi Oppong Ababio, the Sunyani Municipal Chief Executive advised the youth to shun unhealthy practices and channel their exuberance into productive ventures.

He said smoking of cigarette and excessive intake of alcohol were major causes of TB and entreated the general public to help in earlier detection as TB was an airborne disease.

Earlier, some selected school children held placards with the inscriptions “get a free TB test service at your nearest Government hospital”, “Fight TB”, “Talk TB”, “TB is curable”, and “Let us get rid of the stigma” and paraded through the main street of the town, to create public awareness about the disease.

Nana Kumi Acheaw, chief of Abesim, who presided, expressed concern about moral decadence among the youth in the area.**