TB treatment
THE increasing number of people afflicted with tuberculosis (TB) in the Asia-Pacific region, including the Philippines, continues to worry the World Health Organization (WHO).
TB is acknowledged to be one of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases, killing 1.3 million people in 2022, with the region registering more than half of the deaths.
In that year, there were an estimated 10.6 million new TB cases across the globe, with more than three percent of the new cases drug resistant.
Thus, it is not surprising why the WHO will soon roll out a faster and more effective treatment for drug-resistant TB in the region.
Until recently, treatment involved taking of so many pills for one-and-a-half years or longer.
But a new drug regimen involving fewer pills is being rolled out in the Asia-Pacific, including poverty-stricken Philippines.
“Ang problema sa bansa ay maraming may sakit ng TB, kasama na ang mga matatanda, ang ayaw magpatingin sa doktor,” a nurse said.
She added: “Kasi alam nilang lalayuan sila ng mga kamag-anak, kapit-bahay at kaibigan kung alam nilang meron silang tuberculosis.”
Thus, we cannot overemphasize the importance of calling on the public not to “pandirihan ang mga taong may sakit na TB.”
