Ilocos region logs over 8,000 TB cases in 6 months

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

LAOAG CITY, Ilocos Norte — The Department of Health in the Ilocos region detected at least 8,054 cases of tuberculosis (TB) from Jan. 1 to June 30.

Most of the patients were adults who had low immunity, the latest regional DOH data said, adding that the number of TB cases started to climb as more people went to health facilities to seek diagnosis and treatment as pandemic restrictions were eased.

The regional DOH said earlier that the pandemic had affected TB patients’ access to initial diagnosis and treatment since more health facilities and workers allocated their resources to the COVID-19.

Early diagnosis is critical in combating the disease, the DOH noted.

It said, however, that these figures should not cause alarm as health facilities have been implementing strategies to contain the spread of the bacterial infection of the lungs.

Some strategies were active case finding, contact tracing, and making available treatment facilities, said DOH.

Contact tracing had also been done for persons exposed to TB patients and given treatment to prevent them from getting the disease, the DOH added.

It gave assurance that hospitals and health centers in the region had an adequate stock of TB medicines.

In 2021, almost 11,000 TB cases had been reported in the region. INQ

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