Kumasi,May 6,GNA-The Kumasi Metropolitan Directorate of Health Services recorded 327 cases of Tuberculosis (TB) from January to March this year;

Dr Joseph Oduro, the metropolitan director of health services who disclosed this at the first quarterly review meeting in Kumasi on Friday, noted that but for the intensive campaigns mounted so far more cases should have been recorded;

The meeting attended by over 60 health personnel including those from the private institutions aimed at adopting effective strategies to help cure the disease;

He regretted that the stig matisation attached to the disease has been a major problem affecting the cure since patients feel shy to come out for treatment, which is free and therefore appealed to TB patients to attend hospitals and clinics for proper treatment The metropolitan Director of Health Services said TB becomes incurable only when patients default to take the drugs. Dr Oduro said the way forward towards complete cure therefore is to reduce the defaulting rate to zero percent and urged the health personnel to work harder to ensure the attainment of the objective. He gave the assurance that the metropolitan directorate of health services would continue to publicise the need for TB patients to attend hospitals and clinics for early treatment.

Dr Kofi Asare, Ashanti Regional Director of Health Services on his part appealed to the health personnel to consider the review meeting as important to enable them to come out with strategies to fight the disease.