FUNAAB, Ogun State Government Mark World Tuberculosis Day with One Health Focus

The Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB) collaborated with the Ogun State Government and key stakeholders to commemorate World Tuberculosis Day on March 24, 2025. The event, themed "Yes! We Can End TB - Commit, Invest, Deliver", highlighted the importance of a One Health approach in tackling tuberculosis (TB) in humans and animals.

The Ogun State Government, through the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security and the Ministry of Health, partnered with FUNAAB’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital (VTH) to raise awareness about TB, its prevention, treatment, and the ongoing fight to eradicate the disease. The awareness campaign, held on March 23, 2025, featured the Director of VTH, Prof. Olugbenga Kehinde, who underscored the zoonotic nature of TB, stressing that it can spread between animals and humans. Several veterinarians from FUNAAB also participated in the event.

As part of the activities marking the day, the Tele-Education for Clinicians and Leaders in Africa (TeCLA), a private Continuous Education Provider accredited by the Veterinary Council of Nigeria (VCN), partnered with FUNAAB’s College of Veterinary Medicine to host an online lecture. The lecture, themed "Interplay of Wildlife and Tuberculosis: A One Health Perspective", featured insights from Prof. Oladele Talabi, an expert in Ruminant Medicine, and Dr. Adeniyi Egbetade, a Senior Lecturer and Wild Animal Health Consultant.

During the session, the experts emphasized that TB is an infectious disease affecting both humans and animals, including cattle, goats, sheep, and wildlife. They noted that wildlife species such as non-human primates, deer, buffaloes, and elephants could serve as reservoirs for TB, transmitting the disease among themselves, to domestic animals, and humans through direct contact, aerosol transmission, or contaminated environments.

Recognizing the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health, experts at the event advocated for the One Health approach as a crucial strategy for TB control. They highlighted the need for multidisciplinary collaboration across veterinary medicine, public health, and ecology to develop integrated control measures.

To effectively address the wildlife-domestic animal-human TB interface, stakeholders called for enhanced cross-sector collaboration between veterinarians, medical professionals, ecologists, and policymakers. They also stressed the importance of considering ecological factors influencing disease transmission and developing integrated control strategies suited to Nigeria’s public health and wildlife conservation landscape.

With human TB remaining a significant public health challenge in Nigeria, experts urged greater attention to the role of wildlife in disease transmission. They emphasized the need for a comprehensive One Health-based strategy to curb the spread of tuberculosis and protect both human and animal health.