347 contract TB in Zamfara

Gusau – No fewer than 347 people were infected with tuberculosis in Zamfara between January and April, Dr Ibrahim Bature, the TB and Leprosy Control Officer in the state, has announced.

He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), that Gusau Local Government Area had the highest with 115 cases, while Bukkuyum Local Government Area had the least with six cases.

Bature said 20 of those infected also tested positive HIV/AIDS positive. He explained that the increase in the number of those infected by the disease was due to the fact that it was a communicable disease.

Bature said the disease was caused by a bacteria known as “mycobacterium tuberculosis,” which was easily spread through contact with an infected person.

He added that the National TB and Leprosy Control Office had provided enough “patient kids” with anti-TB drugs at 57 TB centres for every TB patient in the state.