By Asma’u Ahmad
The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) said its members are being trained on the management of schistosomiasis (bilharzia) disease in Kebbi State.
The state Chairman of the association, Dr. Musa Haruna made this to newsmen in Birnin Kebbi, the state capital.
Dr. Haruna explained that the training was designed to improve the knowledge of medical doctors for effective service delivery.
“The schistosomiasis disease is spreading among the people as a result of some social factors. Hence the need for our doctors to have more knowledge of the disease for effective treatment of patients suffering from the disease,” he said.
He advised residents to ensure prompt medical check-up whenever they noticed blood in their urine. “Blood in urine is one of the major signs of schistosomiasis disease that one can, without difficulty understand, and when one sees it should report to hospital for proper medical examination,” he said.
A Consultant Urologist at Sir Yahayya Memorial Hospital, Dr. Abdullahi Alhassan, revealed that over 250 million people worldwide had been suffering from the Bilharzia disease.
According to him, most of the affected people by the disease are fishermen and irrigation farmers.
He said there was the need for medical doctors in the state to have more knowledge on the disease.
He added that “the state is blessed with farming and fishing as major sources of income, hence the need to be more alerted and more updated with the knowledge of the disease”.
