The Philippines recorded some 470,000 cases of tuberculosis last year, the Department of Health (DOH) said.
Dr. Ronald Allan Fabella, TB advisor of the DOH’s disease prevention and control bureau, noted that COVID-19 affected the government’s TB detection and treatment program.
“Nakapagtala tayo ng around 470,000 na nagsimula ng gamutan,” Fabella said in a virtual town hall forum.
He pointed out however, that the figure might not be accurate, citing a World Health Organization (WHO) findings that around 700,000 Filipinos were afflicted with TB in 2022.
For TB, a drop in the number of cases does not indicate success, the physician noted.
“Sa TB control kasi, ang importante matigil ang transmission. Para matigil ang transmission, kailangan ma-detect sila at magamot sila,” Fabella said.
TB is caused by bacteria (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) that most often affect the lungs and is spread from person to person through the air, he said.
Common symptoms of active lung TB are cough with sputum and blood at times, chest pains, weakness, weight loss, fever and night sweats. But Fabella stressed TB is a treatable and curable disease.
Drug-susceptible TB disease is treated with a standard 4-month or 6-month course of 4 antimicrobial drugs that are provided with support to the patient by a health worker or trained treatment supporter.
The World TB Day is observed annually on March 24.