Juaso (Ash), Oct 12, GNA - Dr Franklin Asiedu-Bekoe, the Asante-Akim South District Director of Health Services, has advocated the formation of Tuberculosis (TB) Management Committees in various communities as part of efforts to eradicate the disease.

He said since the disease was contagious, there was the need to institute pragmatic measures to ensure its easy identification in order to effectively combat it before it becomes too late.

Dr Asiedu-Bekoe made the suggestion when speaking at the second quarterly review meeting on TB control programme at Juaso on Wednesday. The meeting was attended by personnel from the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), Department of Environmental Health, Community-Based Surveillance Volunteers (CBSV) as well as health officials. According to Dr Asiedu-Bekoe, the introduction of such committees in communities was crucial to the fight against the disease since it took people a long time to attend hospital when infected, rendering its treatment difficult.

He said TB had been a source of worry to the district health directorate in recent years, disclosing that only 50 cases were reported in the first quarter of the year out of a projected 300. He mentioned Juaso and Obogu as the two leading towns in terms of prevalence of the disease in the district and urged stakeholders to intensify education on the disease.

Mr Bernard Ofosu, the District Disease Control Officer, said though the health directorate was doing everything possible to combat the disease, the co-operation of the public could not be underestimated. He, therefore, urged the people to report cases to the various health facilities early enough to avoid complications.