Details emerge as Tuberculosis (TB) remains a leading cause of death in children

Despite the availability of its effective cure, Tuberculosis (TB) remains a leading cause of death in children.

This could be traced to late presentation of the child for screening and test, as most children affected by TB tend to be asymptomatic. Investigations have shown that childhood TB is underdiagnosed and underreported, and care is often accessed too late, resulting in adverse treatment outcomes.

TB affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body, such as the lymph glands, brain, kidneys or spine. It is more common for children to have TB that affects multiple parts of the body than it is for adults, and TB is likely to be more serious in children.

TB, a disease spread through the air, is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis and has killed 1.6 million people globally according to the World Health Organisations (WHO) report in 2021, placing it as one of the top 10 causes of deaths worldwide.

It added that the death rate (per 100,000) in Nigeria was at 53 percent with a growing incidence of drug resistant TB among the general population.

The Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire had said that Nigeria reported about 207,000 cases of tuberculosis in 2021, with 12,977 cases affecting children.

In Akwa Ibom State, however, a TB expert and programme Manager of the State TB Programme, Dr Bassey Akpan in an interaction with journalists in commemoration of the World Tuberculosis Day with the theme, ‘Yes We Can End TB’ revealed that Akwa Ibom recorded 6400 cases of TB in 2021 and 6655 cases in 2022.

He said out of the number of affected persons, 12 percent of them were children.

He lamented the prevalence of TB among children, saying that immunisation of children was the best prevention against the deadly disease.

Akpan advised parents to ensure that their new born babies are given Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) after birth as it remains the cheapest and most effective way of managing infection.

He also harped on good nutrition for children, especially the intake of protein foods so that they would not be susceptible to TB, even as he recommended good ventilation and house spacing.

According to him, “Out of the number of TB patients in Akwa Ibom, 12% of them are children. Children are difficult to diagnose like adults because they don’t produce sputum but we collect their stool as a sample for a test.

“Children are vulnerable to TB because their immune system is not very strong; therefore, parents should immunise their children with BCG when they are born. BCG is the cheapest and most effective way of managing infection.”

He also advised parents to be cautious of their caregivers or persons who come around to touch their babies, especially those with persistent cough, recalling how a 13-month-old baby diagnosed with drug resistant TB was infected by someone around.

He narrated, “I remember a little boy who was 13 months old was diagnosed with TB, not just TB but drug resistant TB. It was difficult for us because we have not really captured that a child of that age will have drug resistant TB and we could not find the source immediately because both parents have drug sensitive TB, while the baby had drug resistant TB.

“That child did not get the infection from the parents but from someone around.

“We have to be careful of our caregivers, especially those coughing. The bad part is that the children who have it most times do not even cough because cough is an immunity reflex. They come looking pale, weak, lean no matter what you feed them. When you notice this, you take the child to hospital for urgent screening, test and treatment which is free.”

Akpan said TB can be successfully treated by taking the full course of antibiotics as prescribed by a doctor within six months for adults and two months for children even as he warned that though TB is curable, it does not confer immunity, saying that just like malaria one can be reinfected if he exposes himself to an infected person.

While hoping for budgetary allocation and releases for TB programmes in the State, Akpan said the state government had embarked on a programme of finding more TB cases to place those diagnosed to be positive on treatment which he said was free.

Akpan further advised, “People should check their housing to have good ventilation, no overcrowding.

“Those living with HIV or diabetes should take their medications regularly. People that take steroids are vulnerable to TB because steroids suppress immunity.”

Earlier, the Akwa Ibom State Coordinator of USAID-Breakthrough Action Nigeria, BAN, Mr Bassey Nsa pledged to intensify advocacy on behavioural change towards TB with the aim of ending TB by 2030.