REPORTER: CHIKA KENNETH-ESONWUNE
A group of Veterinary Doctors in Anambra State has called for stiffer measures to effectively handle animal to human transmission of tuberculosis in the state.
They made the call during a public enlightenment campaign at Umunya Slaughter House,Oyi Local Government Area Anambra State in commemoration of the 2026 World Tuberculosis Day.
Speaking during the enlightenment campaign at Umunya, Leader of the group,Dr Victor Ughaerumba, maintained that ending tuberculosis is achievable through sustained government interest and effort.
Dr Ughaerumba while calling for the construction of ultra modern abattoirs with well structured facilities also sought for the development of functional veterinary diagnostic centres for accurate ante mortem and post mortem diagnosis.
According to him,coughing or difficulty in breathing,weight loss,abscesses and reduced milk production are some of the symptoms of TB in animals.
Speaking on the theme “Yes,We Can End TB: Commit, Invest, Deliver,he reiterated the committment of Veterinary Doctors to continue and win the fight against TB with the needed support from government and people.
Inspecting a slaughtered cow, he called for more awareness on Tuberculosis and prompt report of presumptive cases for immediate attention.
“We have looked at the major internal organs,lungs, kidneys, heart and intestines. We feel at this point that this particular carcass is okay for consumption.
“But again, we are also calling on the government if we have laboratories, we could go for further testing. We can decide to take some samples for laboratory checks so that we might not be missing out some human errors in whatever we are doing, that is going forward for a better, safer, and a greater public health in Anambra”
In their separate contributions, other members of the group Dr Obi Nwogu and Dr Christian Ilozue underscored the urgency of awareness, preventing mode of transmission from animal to human, highlighting the need for vigilance and increased action to stamp out the disease.
They noted that the enlightenment campaign was necessary to educate butchers and public about what they need to know about detection and control of the disease in slaughtered animals.
Acknowledging the need for integrated control services, proper regulations and regular meat inspection before consumption for early detection of tuberculosis, they described the disease as chronic and highly infectious through breathing same air in confined places with infected animals, handling infected animal tissues and drinking raw milk.
The veterinary doctors noted that tuberculosis can affect parts of the body other than the lungs and may always present with persistent cough, urging the butchers to discard affected animal parts when detected for public safety.
Responding,the Leader of the Butchers Mr Chinwuba Uba, appreciated the group for the campaign which he described as life saving, adding that issues around meat safety was important for every human.
He noted that meat safety could not be overlooked, assuring to abide by standard hygienic ways of meat processing and handling in the slaughter house.
Another butcher, Chief Chidiebere Nwankwo, pledged to utilize knowledge gained to enhance public health safety in meat processing promising to share his knowledge with Butchers in other places.
