TB Day Observed
By Daily Guide - Daily Guide Health | Tue, 25 Mar 2008
| 
 I have doled out a gift of salt and received a fist-full of chili-peppers in return.Trans. from Akan by Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr. - By: Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe, Jr.  |
ABOUT ONE hundred marchers, including staff of the Chest Unit of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital and officers from the Ghana Health Service (GHS), last Tuesday, March 18 embarked on an hour-long march through designated routes in Korle-Bu to mark this year's World Tuberculosis (TB) Day which was observed worldwide yesterday, March 24.
The march, themed, “I am Stopping TB, You Too Can”, was aimed at sensitising the public on the dangers of the air-borne disease and the need for sufferers to go for early medical attention since treatment is free.
Some of the placards carried read, 'Treatment of TB is Free', 'Seek Early Treatment for TB', 'Stop TB Now', and 'TB Can Be Dangerous If Left Untreated'.
It's been established that thousands of Ghanaians, including those who do not know their status, are currently living with the disease.
Tuberculosis, according to experts, is caused by bacteria called Mycobacterium Tuberculosis that attack any part of the body, particularly the lungs.
One catches the infection when bacteria released into the air, by an infected person through sneezing or coughing, are inhaled.
When the TB bacteria are breathed in, they can settle in the lungs and grow, after which they can move through the blood to other parts of the body such as the kidney, spine and the brain.
Symptoms include consistent cough that lasts longer than two weeks, chest pain, fatigue, weight loss, loss of appetite, fever as well as sweating at night.
TB treatment is free of charge in all public health care centres across the country.
The march, themed, “I am Stopping TB, You Too Can”, was aimed at sensitising the public on the dangers of the air-borne disease and the need for sufferers to go for early medical attention since treatment is free.
Some of the placards carried read, 'Treatment of TB is Free', 'Seek Early Treatment for TB', 'Stop TB Now', and 'TB Can Be Dangerous If Left Untreated'.
It's been established that thousands of Ghanaians, including those who do not know their status, are currently living with the disease.
Tuberculosis, according to experts, is caused by bacteria called Mycobacterium Tuberculosis that attack any part of the body, particularly the lungs.
One catches the infection when bacteria released into the air, by an infected person through sneezing or coughing, are inhaled.
When the TB bacteria are breathed in, they can settle in the lungs and grow, after which they can move through the blood to other parts of the body such as the kidney, spine and the brain.
Symptoms include consistent cough that lasts longer than two weeks, chest pain, fatigue, weight loss, loss of appetite, fever as well as sweating at night.
TB treatment is free of charge in all public health care centres across the country.
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