The Kano state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Kabiru Getso said on Monday that the state recorded over 7,000 cases of Tuberclosis (TB) with 21 deaths in 2017.

He revealed at a Press conference to mark the World Tuberclosis Day in Kano that the state government had every plan to reduce TB burden in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“With the support of development partners, the state was able to expand DOTs centres from 381 in 2016 to over 500 in 2017,” he said adding that the state government had increased access to diagnostic equipment and services from 86 to 199 laboratories.

“In addition,  the state has installed nine additional GeneXpert machines and presently had about 17 GeneXpert sites to ensure quality management through early diagnosis and effective treatment,” Getso said.

He called on residents to visit the nearest health facilities and GeneXpert sites for early diagnosis and treatment of the disease at no cost.

Nigeria ranked 17 amongst World’s high Tuberculosis burden countries and second amongst the African countries.

The National Prevalence Survey revealed that Nigeria has an estimated incidence of 219 per 100,000 population.