The call was made by Dr Yewande O. Babalola of the Department of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan (CoMUI), during the Faculty of Clinical Sciences Lecture titled “Ocular Tuberculosis Through the Looking Glass.” The lecture took place at Paul Hendrickse Hall, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan.
Held on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, the lecture highlighted ocular tuberculosis as a less-recognised manifestation of the disease, drawing attention to its implications for patients, healthcare professionals and public health.
Babalola, who is also the Principal Investigator of the Point of Screening Ocular Tuberculosis Project (POS-Oc TB), said the possibility of eye involvement should not be overlooked simply because a tuberculosis patient has no eye complaints.
Her presentation highlighted a particularly important challenge: ocular tuberculosis can exist silently, with some affected patients showing no obvious change in vision or other symptoms.
One of the cases presented during the lecture involved a 33-year-old patient whose ocular lesions were detected despite having normal vision and reporting no symptoms. The case demonstrated the limitations of relying solely on patients to report visual problems before initiating an eye examination.
According to Babalola, ocular tuberculosis occurs when Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium that causes TB, spreads through the bloodstream from an infected site to the eye.
Once the infection reaches the eye, different ocular structures can be affected. Depending on the location and severity of the disease, the condition can threaten vision if it is not recognised and treated promptly.
Symptoms, when present, may include blurred or reduced vision, redness, eye pain, sensitivity to light, floaters or spots in the field of vision, as well as swelling and inflammation.
However, the absence of these symptoms does not necessarily mean that the eyes are unaffected.
This, she argued, makes routine screening particularly important for people receiving treatment for tuberculosis.
Babalola also identified a number of factors associated with increased risk of tuberculosis infection, including cigarette smoking, prolonged or close contact with people who have TB, a weakened immune system and residence in areas where tuberculosis is prevalent.
She drew particular attention to Nigeria's substantial tuberculosis burden and stressed the need for greater awareness of manifestations of the disease outside the organs most commonly associated with TB.
The lecturer said her research suggested that the prevalence of ocular tuberculosis was nearly twice the level reported in a study conducted about two decades earlier.
The finding, as presented during the lecture, reinforces concerns about the extent to which ocular manifestations of tuberculosis may go undetected and the need for greater attention to the eye during the management of TB patients.
Screening project targets preventable blindness
A major focus of the lecture was the Point of Screening for Ocular Tuberculosis (POS-OTB) Project, an initiative led by Babalola that seeks to identify ocular manifestations of tuberculosis early enough to help prevent avoidable blindness.
The project has brought together healthcare professionals from several areas, with training workshops involving departments and units including Medicine, Paediatrics and the Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI).
Preliminary findings from more than 1,000 patients screened under the project indicated that approximately 90 per cent had ocular involvement, according to figures presented by Babalola.
The findings underline the importance of looking beyond the symptoms patients present with when managing infectious diseases such as tuberculosis.
For Babalola, the screening of TB patients should therefore not be regarded as an optional addition to care but as an important component of identifying complications that could otherwise remain hidden.
She consequently recommended that patients diagnosed with tuberculosis undergo eye examinations, while also calling for sustained education and training of healthcare workers.
Such training, she said, would improve recognition of ocular tuberculosis and enable practitioners to identify patients who may require further ophthalmic assessment.
The issue is particularly significant for patients whose immune systems are compromised. Babalola noted that people living with HIV/AIDS are among those more vulnerable to tuberculosis, reinforcing the need for healthcare workers to remain alert to possible complications.
Academic platform for research and public health
In his opening address, the Provost of the College of Medicine, Professor T. O. Ogundiran, described the lecture as part of the university's academic tradition of providing scholars with opportunities to present their work to audiences both within and outside the institution.
He stressed the value of giving academics a platform to share research findings and communicate their wider significance to society.
The lecture attracted senior academics and clinicians from the College of Medicine, including the Dean of the Faculty of Clinical Sciences, Professor T. A. Lawal, who read Babalola's citation.
Also in attendance were past and present members of the College of Medicine management, heads of departments, sub-deans, consultants, resident doctors and medical students.
The research was undertaken with contributions from collaborators, including Stanford Medicine, while Pfizer's Global Health Fellowship was recognised for supporting the work.
Babalola's citation also noted her selection for the 2026 Cohort of Women Leaders in Global Health, highlighting the wider recognition of her academic and research activities.
The lecture was the fifth Faculty of Clinical Sciences lecture delivered by the Department of Ophthalmology since 1991, according to the College of Medicine.
The series provides an avenue for the institution's researchers and clinicians to present work that contributes to medical knowledge while drawing attention to issues relevant to healthcare delivery and public health.
Following the lecture, a post-lecture cocktail was held at the AOK Johnson Boardroom, where Professor Lawal presented Babalola with a commemorative plaque in recognition of the presentation.
A call for earlier detection
The central message from the lecture was that the eyes should not be overlooked in the treatment of tuberculosis.
For patients, ocular tuberculosis may remain hidden until damage has occurred, while for healthcare workers, the condition presents a diagnostic challenge because its symptoms can overlap with those of other eye diseases.
Routine examination, therefore, offers an opportunity to detect ocular involvement even when a patient does not complain of impaired vision.
The research presented at the University of Ibadan also illustrates the role medical research can play in identifying gaps between what patients experience and what healthcare systems routinely screen for.
By bringing ophthalmology into the wider management of tuberculosis, Babalola's project seeks to strengthen the connection between infectious disease treatment, specialist eye care and blindness prevention.
Her recommendation is straightforward: patients diagnosed with TB should have their eyes examined, while healthcare workers should receive the training needed to recognise ocular tuberculosis.
The broader public-health concern is that a disease already known for its impact on the lungs and other organs may also pose a less visible threat to sight.
For Babalola, identifying that threat early could make the difference between timely treatment and avoidable visual impairment or blindness.