Managing the regional problem on tuberculosis

Edgar Allan Poe. Frederick Chopin. Eleanor Roosevelt. Marcelo H. del Pilar. Manuel L. Quezon.

What do these famous personalities have in common? All died of tuberculosis. Although tuberculosis (TB) has been widely regarded as a "poor man’s disease," history has shown that TB knows no cultural, financial or international boundaries.

Through the years, millions of people have suffered from life-long debilitation or have died from the disease. The World Health Organization’s Western Pacific Regional Office has admitted that the region has not yet recovered from the TB crisis after it was declared a "regional crisis" in 1999.

In fact, in the region alone, 1,000 people die from TB everyday, and the WHO believes thousands more will be affected – unless a more aggressive anti-TB campaign is undertaken.

According to the Department of Health (DOH), the Philippines has no significant improvement in terms of TB case notification rate. In fact, TB mortality ranked sixth at 36.1 per 100,000 population (year 1997), while TB morbidity ranked sixth at 169.1 per 100,000 people (year 2000). The Philippines ranks third in the Western Pacific region in terms of case notification rate, and is one of 22 countries with a high burden of TB cases under the WHO watchlist. Needless to say, 75 Filipinos die of tuberculosis everyday, based on DOH statistics.

But the DOH is optimistic that TB can be eradicated in the next one or two years. Speaking at the recent World TB Day at the Quezon Institute, Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit said the country must use the recent "Patak Polio" campaign as a guide for the anti-TB program.

Dayrit added, "The disease pattern for polio is clear. We easily knew there was a mutant strain. It eased the burden of the anti-polio drive campaign. Aside from this, all the health workers and volunteers were mobilized. In the case of tuberculosis, the disease challenges us to think clearly. Ten, 20 years ago, we ran aground in the campaign versus TB. We’re now at the stage where we can plan a TB summit."

At present, the government uses the WHO’s Directly-Observed Treatment Short Course-Chemotherapy (DOTS) strategy to fight TB. Under DOTS, a treatment partner monitors a TB patient taking his medicines daily throughout the six months of therapy. The scheme also educates and motivates the TB patient to comply with the treatment up to the final day. The cure rate is 85 percent.

Aside from the national program on TB, the private sector is also doing its part in the fight against the disease.

The GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Foundation, in partnership with the Philippine Tuberculosis Society Inc. (PTSI), has pledged to provide free anti-TB treatment to patients belonging to the working age group who have become unproductive because of TB. PTSI will handle the implementation of the program by providing infrastructure and personnel for anti-TB services, including screenings, diagnosis, treatment and a monitoring information campaign.

GSK Foundation and PTSI also launched a contest among 20 areas covered by PTSI for the most comprehensive and appealing anti-TB information campaigns. Called DOTS: Laban sa TB Program, the competition recognized the most effective education and public relations campaigns against TB among PTSI’s different areas. GSK Foundation provided the materials needed during the campaign period.

All the participants’ hard work paid off during the awarding ceremonies held at the Quezon Institute, coinciding with the World TB Day. PTSI-Cebu bagged the top prize, while runners-up were PTSI-Pangasinan and PTSI-National Capital Region. The winners received plaques of recognition and cash prizes for their creativity and hard work.

Tuberculosis is an ancient disease, and the cure, a half-century-old. The WHO Western Pacific Regional Office hopes the TB crisis will grind to a halt. It is doing its part. Aside from government funding and political commitment, the private sector’s concern can make a difference in the fight against tuberculosis.