Tuberculosis kills over 162,000 Nigerians annually, the Nigerian Thoracic Society (NTS) has disclosed.
The group made the disclosure while commemorating the 2021 World Tuberculosis Day yesterday, March 24, with the theme: “The Clock is ticking.”
According to Prof. Prince Ele, President of the NTS, tuberculosis is the world’s deadliest infectious killer, adding that over 430,000 Nigerians are diagnosed of the disease annually. He therefore urged government at various levels and health authorities to be proactive in the fight against the disease.
He also noted that though, the global efforts to combat the disease have saved millions of lives in Nigeria and globally, the current COVID-19 pandemic has shifted global attention from the fight against TB.