If you have any of these symptoms—a cough that lasts for more than three weeks, chest pain, coughing up blood, feeling tired, night sweats, chills, fever, loss of appetite, and weight loss—it is time for you to see a doctor.
These are the symptoms of tuberculosis (TB). It is caused by the bacteria spreading through the air. You will be at risk of having TB if your family member, friend, or co-worker has active TB.
You are also likely to get TB if you are a smoker.
The DOH also noted that males and smokers, the elderly, and those who were previously treated of the disease are the top three groups that most vulnerable to TB in the Philippines.
Smoking, according to HealthJustice Philippines Board Member and Former Secretary of Health Dr. Jaime Galvez-Tan, is very dangerous to lung health.
He said that smoking can also cause many serious chronic diseases of the lung. He said that TB is an airborne bacterial infection and is transmitted through coughing or sneezing particles into the air.
Passive and active exposure
In a review of different studies conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO), it concluded that: “This review indicates that passive or active exposu re to tobacco smoke is significantly associated with tuberculous infection and tuberculosis disease. Active smoking is significantly associated with recurrent tuberculosis and tuberculosis mortality.”
It added that “opportunities must be created within the health care system to provide every TB patient, who is a smoker, encouragement and help them overcome the tobacco addiction. In addition every TB patient who is not a smoker must be made aware of the consequences of being exposed to secondhand smoke.”
“Smokers should quit to reduce the risk of lung infections,” Dr. Galvez-Tan said.
Globally, the Philippines has the third highest incidence of TB cases with approximately one million individuals currently living with TB.
Quitting the bad habit
It may be noted that when the pandemic broke out, HealthJustice Philippines was quick to advise smokers to quit the bad habit. However, the Covid-19 pandemic has made both smoking and e-cigarette cessation more difficult.
But Dr. Galvez-Tan said that living a smoke-free lifestyle for a better immune system should not be derailed by the pandemic.
He said the national government should enact stricter smoke-free laws to protect the people from secondhand and tobacco smoke as part of the health measures of the government.
“Another problem with smoking, vaping and exposure to secondhand hand smoke and aerosols is that they increase risks associated with Covid-19 virus transmission.” Dr Galvez-Tan said.
Drop in number of reported cases
The Department of Health (DOH) reported the drastic reduction in the number of TB cases reported to the DOH.
Dr. Ana Marie Celina Garfin, medical specialist and program manager of the DOH National TB Control Program, said TB cases dropped by 35 percent in 2020.
“Fewer reported cases means that many Filipinos with TB are left untreated and may spread the infection to their loved ones,” Garfin said.
The Philippines has the highest TB incidence rate in Asia, with 554 cases per 100,000 people.
Media’s role on TB treatment awareness
The DOH and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) opened recently a media fellowship grant for Filipino journalists to produce stories that help TB care get back on track.
Dr. Beverly Lorraine Ho, director of DOH Disease Prevention and Control Bureau, cited the important role of the Philippine media in setting the public health agenda.
“Universal health care is difficult to explain. But your stories can help our fellow Filipinos realize that getting access to proper health care at the right time at the right place is possible,” said Dr. Ho.
The grant initiative is managed by Evident Strategic Research and Consulting Inc. Evident carried out a media scanning of TB reporting in the Philippines and revealed that the mention of TB in mass media and social media increased threefold in 2020 with most stories and posts linking TB with Covid-19. Out of over 5,000 articles scanned, 641 stories were analyzed to determine the compliance of journalists to the global USAID TB health reporting guidelines.
“We found that many stories lack messaging on the call to action. What should people do? This is what we hope to achieve with this media grant program,” said Raya Albarece, Evident project manager, sharing a handy guide on responsible TB coverage for journalists.
Under the grant, 20 journalists will receive a seed fund to develop in-depth reports about the urgency to find and start on treatment as many Filipinos with TB as possible.
DOH and USAID’s TB Innovations and Health Systems Strengthening Project launched the #TBFreePH Journalists’ Grant on TB Coverage on July 1 and held an online training workshop for over 100 journalists.