ILOILO City – Region 6 recorded an 11-percent increase in treatment coverage for all forms of tuberculosis (TB) cases, according to the Department of Health (DOH).
“We hope to sustain or exceed this accomplishment,” said Christine Mosqueda, DOH Region 6 coordinator for the National TB Control Program (NTP).
TB is caused by bacteria (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) that most often affect the lungs. It is curable and preventable.
A total of 29,741 TB cases were covered for treatment in Western Visayas 2018 – higher by 11 percent or an increase of 2,904 cases compared to the 26,837 cases covered in 2017.
Mosqueda bared the statistics during the regional coordinating committee meeting for NTP.
“Nationwide, Western Visayas is second to the National Capital Region when it comes to TB treatment coverage,” she said.
TB is spread from person to person through the air. When people with lung TB cough, sneeze or spit, they propel the TB germs into the air. A person needs to inhale only a few of these germs to become infected.
Mosqueda said the estimated number of TB cases in Region 6 reached 44,991 in 2018.
“Of the said figure, 43,149 are drug-susceptible while 1,842 are drug-resistant,” she said.
There is still a need to find 14,472 missing TB cases in Western Visayas, said Mosqueda.
DOH-6 has started formulating a strategic plan to find these missing TB cases in the region, she said.
When a person develops active TB disease, the symptoms (such as cough, fever, night sweats, or weight loss) may be mild for many months. This can lead to delays in seeking care, and results in transmission of the bacteria to others.
People with active TB can infect 10–15 other people through close contact over the course of a year, according to the World Health Organization. (PIA-Iloilo/PN)
