Benue State has been ranked the highest in tuberculosis cases in the North Central zone and sixth across the country.

Dr. Yanmar Ortese, the state Commissioner for Health and Human Services, revealed this at a press conference in Makurdi, the state capital, on Monday to mark this year’s World Health Day.

He said, “Our fight against tuberculosis is ongoing with the state ranking sixth in the country and first in the North Central zone for TB cases.”

Yanmar Ortese, appealed to the people of the state to join hands with the state government to fight for the reverse of the high trend of tuberculosis.

The commissioner said that the state had enrolled over 50,000 of its most vulnerable population into the state’s health insurance scheme under the basic healthcare provision fund programme across the 276 political wards of the state.

He also said that over 5,500 Internally Displaced Persons have also been enrolled in the health insurance scheme, thereby improving in healthcare delivery to the most vulnerable of the vulnerable.

Moreso, with the update on Lassa fever cases in the state, the commissioner revealed that about 820 cases were received, 63 confirmed with 16 deaths while two persons are on admission and in stable condition.

Yanmar Ortese, complained about the state, in recent times,  that it had experienced multiple disease outbreaks, including measles and Buruli Ulcer, among other diseases.

“We are responding to the largest fever outbreak in the history of our state,” he said, adding that their capacities are stretched, particularly as the state lacks a functional public health molecular laboratory.