Dr Chubby Eze, Senior Programme Officer, KNCV Foundation, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), has confirmed that 51 out of 609 people screened in Makurdi had symptoms of Tuberculosis (TB).
Eze, who fielded questions from journalists on Friday, in Makurdi, said that samples of the people were moved to gene expert sites, across the Local Government Areas (LGAs), in Benue, for testing.
Mr Dominic Alamkah, Coordinator, Breakthrough Action-Nigeria, another NGO involved in the screening, advised patients to ensure that they took the complete dose of their drugs, to avoid coming down with drug resistant TB.
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The patients, who adhered strictly to their prescriptions, improve greatly and in record time, he said, while encouraging them to also adhere to all preventive measures of TB in their own interest.
“We are working hard to ensure that TB is eradicated in Benue. That is why we have embarked on this medical outreach.
“We are using the outreach to achieve two things: to test and to sensitize people. We, therefore, advise that all hands should be on deck to ensure that we achieve the targets,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Breakthrough Action-Nigeria, KNCV Foundation and Apin Public Health Initiative, organised the medical outreach to test people for TB.