An expert in tuberculosis (TB), Professor Aderemi Kehinde says Nigeria can only confirm TB using blood samples only in three centres in the country, a situation that constitutes an impediment to TB control efforts in Nigeria.
Professor Kehinde, in his inaugural lecture entitled “Superbugs: The Known and Unknown” at the University of Ibadan, stated that the causative agents for tuberculosis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis can only be isolated from blood samples at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigerian Institute for Medical Research and at Zaria.
According to him, the commonly available test for TB in many hospitals is the sputum smear microscopy although isolating the causative agent for TB from an infected blood specimen is regarded as the definitive diagnosis of the infectious disease.
Professor Kehinde, however, said the detection rate for tuberculosis affecting other parts of the body aside from the lungs is low using the sputum smear microscopy.
He declared, “We need to put in place a reliable and more functional laboratory- A biolevel 2 laboratory. That requires a lot of infrastructure and resources. In Nigeria, we have about three centres where we can isolate Mycobacterium tuberculosis: University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigerian Institute for Medical Research and Zaria.
“In other areas, we depend on the less sensitive laboratory methods to make the diagnosis of TB. The significance of this is that some infectious people with TB are not diagnosed and they keep on spreading the disease in the community. So, it makes TB eradication very difficult to achieve.
“An urgent need to build capacity on TB molecular epidemiologic techniques in the country cannot be overemphasised. This will enhance TB diagnosis and treatment and help to institute preventive strategies.”
On typhoid fever, Professor Kehinde said the widal test is not reliable and cannot be used to accurately diagnose the condition.
According to him, “the hallmark for the diagnosis of typhoid fever is blood culture. Widal test is not a correct test for typhoid fever because it is not sensitive enough and it is not specific for typhoid fever. It can be positive in other febrile illnesses such as malaria. So, it is not diagnostic of typhoid fever.”
The don, in the lecture, said the hallmark of intervention against infectious diseases is prevention and urged the provision of potable water in the community and environmental sanitation prioritised to strengthen water, sanitation and hygiene.
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