Thousands of TB patients cured in Western Visayas
The Department of Health-Center for Health Development, Region 6 said that they have treated some 16,000 cases of tuberculosis (TB) in Western Visayas under its Directly Observed Treatment Short Course or DOTS program.
Dr. Edith Gimotea, DOH 6 regional TB coordinator said during the press conference that of the 16,000 TB cases, about 10,000 are sputum positive.
She emphasized that a person who is a sputum positive can infect ten to twenty persons in a year.
Region 6 was cited as number one in case detection under the National TB program, Gimotea said as she noted that “we were able to cure 92% of this identified TB cases especially the sputum positive cases”.
Tuberculosis is an infectious disease caused by TB bacteria (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) that primarily affects the lungs.
According to a study TB is prevalent in areas with low socio-economic status and is predisposed due to overcrowding, poverty, poor ventilation, unhygienic living conditions and close contact with patients having tuberculosis. The most common way of acquiring the infection is by droplet or through air.
The Philippines is among the 22 high-burdened countries in the world according the WHO. TB is sthe 6th leading cause of illness and the 6th leading cause of deaths among the Filipinos. Most TB patients belong to the economically productive age-group (15-54 years old) according to the 2nd National Prevalence Survey in 1997.
One gets infected with TB if he inhales the germs released from air dorplets when a pulmonary TB (PTB) patient coughs, sneezes and spits.
How is TB diagnosed? Pulmonary TB is suspected if a person has symptoms of cough for more than 2 weeks, fever, chest and back pains, poor appetite, loss of weight and hemoptysis. He should seek medical consultation and his sputum should be sxamined to detect the presense of TB germs/bacteria.
The DOH 6 regional TB coordinator said that TB patients are referred to undergo DOTS or Directly-Observed Treatment Short course. It is a comprehensive strategy endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases (IUATLD) to detect and cure TB patients.
Under this program, the patients are given quality health services plus free supply of medicines, Gimotea said. (PIA6/T.Villavert)
