Expert sees no TB epidemic in Phl

BARCELONA, Philippines – Although the Philippines has the two ingredients for a tuberculosis (TB) epidemic, an expert from Paris-based International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) does not see this happening.

“The Philippines is quite unique. One of my colleagues at the Brown University is from the Philippines and he studied the epidemic for 15 years,” The Union president Jane Carter said during the Journalist 2 Journalist Lung Health Media Training of the National Press Foundation here.

Carter predicted that the TB-HIV epidemic in the Philippines “will be going to mirror that of the United States wherein things did not go very much out of control, as opposed to what is happening in sub-Saharan Africa.”

Sub-Saharan Africa is among the nations now suffering from both TB and HIV epidemics.

The Philippines, on the other hand, is recording soaring cases of HIV.

The Department of Health (DOH) had predicted that by the end of the year, HIV/AIDS cases would reach 30,650, with 16 new cases being recorded every day.

Aside from this, the Philippines is also in the World Health Organization (WHO)’s list of 22 high-burdened countries for TB.

The DOH estimates that there are 200,000 to 250,000 TB cases annually.

According to Carter, the Philippines has a better health system than sub-Saharan Africa.

“The critical issue is, do patients have access to care and can the health system deliver that care? This is my personal opinion but I think the Philippines is in a much better position (to handle this),” said Carter, who is an associate professor at Brown University in Rhode Island.

Carter added that if the Philippines will have the political will now, it would be able to stop the emerging crisis.

The co-infection of TB and HIV was among the highlights of the five-day 45th World Lung Health Conference organized by The Union to find solutions to the lung health challenges that the world is facing.

Around 3,000 doctors, scientists, patients and other stakeholders from around the world are participating in the event.

During the conference, experts presented the “looming co-epidemic” of TB and diabetes, which was also observed to be rising in the Philippines.

In an interview here, DOH officer-in-charge for TB and other diseases division Rosalind Vianzon said the agency has long established a TB program to address the disease.

“The program has interventions and strategies to control TB in the Philippines. DOTS is the strategy behind all these things that when you try to introduce a new intervention, it is still anchored on the principle of DOTS,” she said.

Introduced by the WHO, DOTS contains a six-point strategy to dramatically reduce the global burden of TB by 2015.

Under the DOTS, health workers or trained volunteers shall observe patients swallowing the full course of correct dosage of anti-TB medicine for at least six to eight months. Interruption of treatment or under- and over-dosage may lead to multidrug-resistant TB.

“DOTS is not a new drug. It is a principle, a strategy. All rural health centers in the country are DOTS-enabled. We have also been opening up, through our private engagement, some private hospitals, private clinics, jails and schools that can provide to their clients with the DOTS strategies,” she said.