Health workers attend tuberculosis workshop
A two-day training workshop on the control of tuberculosis (TB) organized by the Yendi Municipal Health Directorate for over 45 health workers has ended in Yendi.
The workshop participants included Community Health Nurses, Disease Control Officers, Community Health Organizations, Chemical Sellers, Zonal Coordinators, and representative from the Church of Christ.
They were taken through the Introduction to the National TB Programme of Ghana, Clinical Presentation, Investigation Diagnosis of TB, Specimen Collection Techniques, Patient Follow-up,: Monthly Review and Preventing Treatment Interruption, among other topics.
In her closing remarks Madam Denisia Agong, Yendi Municipal Director of Health Services, reminded the participants that since TB is curable and its treatment free of charge, they should encourage people who cough more than one week to go to hospital.
She said as stakeholders who had acquired requisite knowledge and skills, the workshop participants should manage TB cases and advise people suspected of having TB to report to the nearest hospital for treatment.
Speaking on Clinical Presentation Investigation and Diagnosis of TB, Mr Tony Sopaal, Assistant Physician at the Yendi Hospital, said TB was an infectious disease caused by several species of mycobacterium.
He said in West Africa, the commonest types of the disease are Mycobacterium Tuberculosis and Mycobacterium Africanum.
Mr Awuni Mbabila, Yendi Municipal Disease Control Officer, said most TB patients are adults in the economically productive age group, and their conditions adversely affect the nation and the family economy.
Mr. Awuni said in 2011 five people suffering from the disease lost their lives.
Source: GNA