By Elizabeth Larkwor Baah,
Tema, April 27, GNA – Mr Isaac Opoku Asamoah, Senior Technical Officer, Office of Tuberculosis Control, Greater Accra Region, has emphasised the need to combat tuberculosis to save lives, particularly children.
He said childhood TB was a huge public health hazard that must be addressed immediately.
Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), Mr Asamoah said 203 children between the ages of zero and 14 contracted the ailment in 2022, out of a total of 2,703 cases documented in the Greater Accra Region.
He said indications in youngsters included fever, weight loss, nocturnal sweats, poor growth, and many other things assing that it was a preventable and curable disease, and that diagnosis and treatment were free in all public and authorised private health facilities.
He said sputum samples were taken from all visitors to the hospital or clinics and delivered to the laboratory to be examined using GeneXpert technology and in locations where Xpert machines were not available, samples were transferred to a testing centre, and patients who tested positive were put on treatment plans.
He added that home visits were made and family members counselled to serve as treatment supporters to prevent loss of follow-up during therapy.
Mr Asamoah said household members, including children under the age of five, living in bacteriologically confirmed households were screened, after which those who tested positive, were treated for tuberculosis.
Those who test negative are placed on tuberculosis prevention therapy (TPT).
GNA