470,000 TB cases recorded in 2022 - DOH

The Department of Health said that around 470,000 tuberculosis cases were reported in the Philippines in 2022.

The DOH's disease prevention and control bureau's TB advisor, Dr. Ronald Allan Fabella, observed that COVID-19 impacted the nation's TB detection and treatment program.

A decline in TB cases does not signify success, though.

According to a WHO study, the Philippines had 741,000 TB cases in 2021, with 60,000 deaths, according to Fabella.

According to him, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, a bacteria that typically affects the lungs, causes TB and spreads from person to person through the air.

Chest pains, weakness, weight loss, fever, and night sweats are all common signs of active lung TB, as are coughs that occasionally produce sputum and blood.

Nonetheless, Fabella emphasized that TB is a treatable and curable illness.

A conventional 4-month or 6-month course of 4 antimicrobial medicines is used to treat drug-susceptible TB illness, and the patient is supported throughout therapy by a health professional or trained treatment supporter.

Every year on March 24, World TB Day is observed.