Philippines Has Made Progress in TB Control Efforts, Health Official Says
The Philippines has shown progress in the fight against tuberculosis during the past few years despite ranking ninth out of 22 countries with the highest TB burdens worldwide, Roberto Ilagan -- regional manager of the Linking Initiative and Networking to Control Tuberculosis, also known as TB Link -- said recently, Asia Pulse reports. TB is the sixth leading cause of death in the Philippines, and Ilagan said that the country has the third highest number of TB cases in the western Pacific region.
World Health Organization data indicate that 133 TB cases per 100,000 people are recorded in the Philippines. TB Link, which works with the Department of Health and local government units to monitor TB detection and treatment success rates, estimates that case detection in the country is more than 70% and that treatment success is close to 85%, according to Ilagan. Some provinces, such as Pangasinan, have detection and cure rates that exceed WHO requirements, which are 70% for TB detection and 85% for treatment success. Ana Theresa de Guzman, assistant provincial health officer in Pangasinan, said that the health department has seen TB eradication as a priority since 1998. She added that the department aims to reach the United Nations Millennium Development Goal of curbing the spread of TB by 2016.
De Guzman said the government spends about $175 to $195 per person enrolled in DOTS, which is the primary strategy used for TB control in the country, Asia Pulse reports. People found to have TB through a sputum test or chest X-ray are enrolled in DOTS for six to eight months, according to de Guzman (Asia Pulse, 7/16).
