Nigeria gets U.S. aid against tuberculosis
By Chukwuma Muanya
A SURVEY of Nigerians with Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR TB) is in the offing.
The Federal Government is undertaking the exercise in collaboration with Tuberculosis (TB) Partnership and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
In an interview with The Guardian, the Director of Public Health, Federal Ministry of Health, Dr. Jonathan Y. Jiya, said the resistance to TB drugs is high but there are no exact figures because the government is yet to conduct a survey on it.
He said from the Beijing meeting in early April, Nigeria got support from the TB Partnership to carry out a prevalence survey.
MDR TB is resistant to at least two of the best anti-tuberculosis drugs, isoniazid and rifampicin, which are considered first-line drugs for treating all persons with the disease.
Extensively Drug Resistant Tuberculosis (XDR TB) is a relatively rare type of MDR TB but resistant to isoniazid and rifampin, any fluoroquinolone and at least one of three injectable second-line drugs (that is, amikacin, kanamycin, or capreomycin).
Jiya said the survey would help Nigeria to achieve 80 per cent Case Detection Rate (CDR).
"The survey we are doing in the country, the detection rate we should be able to detect 80 per cent, but we have not been able to achieve this. Last year we achieved up to 45 per cent and this year we hope we can achieve 80 per cent but we need surveillance," he said.
Jiya continued: "It is only when laboratory analysis is done that we can get the MDR TB and XDR TB strains. The problem we have in society is statistics. We are not able to get the appropriate number of people with MDR TB, but I believe we would in the near future."
Since XDR TB is resistant to first-line and second line drugs, patients are left with treatment options that are less effective.
However, XDR TB is a serious concern for persons with Human Immuno-Deficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) infection or other conditions that can weaken the immune system. Infected persons are prone to TB disease and have a higher risk of death once they develop TB.
Jiya said: "The issue of MDR TB came up three to four years ago and we are having resistance because since the development of Directly Observed Treatment Scheme (DOTS) people diagnosed with TB and given the anti-TB drugs. Some just take it for some time and stop. But these are drugs that you do not stop taking because they are anti-bacterial drugs.
"If you take the drugs halfway and stop, then the bacteria becomes more resistant to that drug. TB is a killer disease. What we are doing is to ensure that the second line drugs are made available".
