A medical adviser on tuberculosis, Dr Charles Nwafor, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu on Tuesday that such relevant laws would compel persons with the disease to go for treatment in the interest of the public.
According to Nwafor, the severe form of tuberculosis is known as multi-drug resistant TB which is difficult to treat because the regular drugs used are not able to cure a person with this form of TB.
“We know that some countries have laws that protect the public, heathwise. In Kenya, if you have TB, especially the resistant type, you must go for treatment compulsorily.
“We are worried because some patients who have been diagnosed with the resistant type and offered free treatment have refused this form of treatment for several reasons; some are due to religious beliefs.
“Some patients also believe that the disease cannot be cured with orthodox medicine, some believe it is a spiritual attack while some are afraid of losing their jobs because a patient who has resistant TB must remain in the hospital and receive the treatment for eight months,” he said.
Nwafor said as public health specialists, they were worried because these people affected by the disease, especially the resistant type, and had refused to receive treatment constituted public health hazards.
Earlier, another medical adviser, Dr Tony Meka, said there were cases of drug resistant TB patients who refused treatment in spite of the plea to go for treatment, adding that the treatment was free.
“There are some confirmed cases of drug resistant patients who have refused treatment in spite of all entreaties. The treatment is free, the drugs are free and in addition there are some incentives to act as support and yet they vehemently refuse treatment,” Meka said.
“We are looking at it beyond individual rights, being a serious infectious disease, we think its spread in our community has a public health effect,” he said.
He said the form of the disease talked about was a more severe form of TB, adding that most people who had the disease had refused treatment and yet lived in a community and maintained the spread within the community thereby putting the community at risk.
Meka said in some states like Bayelsa, Cross River and Ebonyi, health workers encountered people with the disease turning down the treatment. (NAN)
