The Kano state Commissioner for Health, Dr Kabiru Getso has said that the state had recorded over 7,000 cases of Tuberculosis with 21 deaths in 2017.
The Commissioner revealed this on Monday evening at a Press conference to mark the World Tuberculosis Day in Kano.
He said that the present administration in the state at inception, planned to reduce the burden of the disease in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
According to him, “With the support of development partners, the state was able to expand DOTs centres from 381 in 2016 to over 500 in 2017.”
Getso added that the state government had increased access to diagnostic equipment and services from 86 to 199 laboratories.
In addition, the state he said, had installed nine additional GeneXpert machines and presently had about 17 GeneXpert sites to ensure quality management through early diagnosis and effective treatment.
The Commissioner, however called on residents to visit the nearest health facilities and GeneXpert sites for early diagnosis and treatment of the disease at no cost.
Nigeria ranked 17 amongst World’s high Tuberculosis burden countries and second amongst the African countries.
The National Prevalence Survey revealed that Nigeria has an estimated incidence of 219 per 100,000 population. (NAN)
