Accra, April 30, GNA – Madam Jane Amerley Oku, the Founder of the Janok Foundation, a non-governmental organisation has appealed to the Ghana Health Service to extend the supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) to the tuberculosis health volunteers in the communities.
She said the TB had signs and symptoms similar to COVID-19 and therefore the supply of the PPE would help protect the volunteers from contracting the disease.
Madam Oku who made the appeal in an interview with the Ghana News Agency said the disease transmitted from a sick TB patient as uninfected persons inhaled a droplet infection through coughing, singing and sneezing.
“The risk of contracting TB increases with the frequency and duration of contact with people who have the disease,” she said, adding; “A patient with active TB disease may have any or all of the following (poor weight gain in children), fever, tiredness, night sweats, chest pain, and cough with blood stained sputum.”
Madam Oku said adults in most parts of the developing world including; Ghana have been exposed to TB bacteria without knowing and that “the progression from infection (latent) to active TB disease depends on the immunity of the individual.
“Those at higher risk of progressing to the disease are: smokers, alcoholics, prisoners, and people living in over-crowded and poorly ventilated rooms, mine workers or persons exposed to silica, and persons with lowered immunity due to medical conditions such as HIV, diabetes cancers, kidney failure and malnutrition.”
Madam Oku said, however that TB is a preventable and curable disease and that diagnosis and treatment is available free of charge in all public and accredited private health facilities in the country.
GNA