The City Health Office in Cagayan de Oro City notes an increase in the number of tuberculosis (TB) cases detected in the first two months of 2024. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — The City Health Office here has noted an increase in the number of tuberculosis (TB) cases detected in the first two months of the year.
According to Dr. Claire Paglinawan, assistant city health officer and local medical coordinator for the National Tuberculosis Program, they discovered more than a thousand cases from January to February.
“As of now, our TB cases are on the rise but finding more cases is better, because if we find the missing cases, the more that we can soon end TB,” she explained.
TB is caused by an airborne bacteria that mainly attacks the lungs.
Paglinawan noted that detection of TB cases slowed down during the pandemic.
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The average TB case here is aged 30 to 50, with more males who are smokers getting infected. Paglinawan said smokers are susceptible to the infection because smoking damages the lungs and impacts the body’s immune system.
In 2023, local health authorities recorded 5,364 TB cases with 30 deaths. Of these cases, 4,383 or 82 percent have completed their prescribed medication.
Paglinawan lamented that despite the medication being given free by the government, many still failed to complete the regimen, mainly because they moved to other places. She added that the patients could have been endorsed to the health centers of their new locations if they had given prior notice.
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Paglinawan warned that patients should not stop taking their medication because this will lead to multiple drug-resistant TB which is more dangerous than common pulmonary TB.
This year, health authorities are targeting to detect 638 cases per 10,000 population, hence the massive chest X-ray tests required for those asking for medical certificates and clearances, especially among those who seek fresh employment.
In addition to this, the local government offers free chest X-ray tests during medical caravans, including for those inside prisons and detention facilities.
Paglinawan urges those who have had a cough for more than two weeks, unexplained fever, night sweats, and weight loss to seek medical help as these are also symptoms of TB.
TB is the 8th leading cause of morbidity in the Philippines in 2021.