Rey Anthony H.
Chiu
TAGBILARAN CITY, August 24 (PIA) -- The control strategy
recommended as the most cost-effective way to stop the spread of tuberculosis
in communities would soon be available even in private hospitals in Bohol,
according to the Department of Health (DOH).
Bohol TB program coordinator Polizena Rances bared this at the
recent Kapihan sa PIA as the whole country commemorates the death of former
President Manuel L. Quezon, whole life was nipped by the disease in
August.
Tuberculosis or TB, a lung disease that still ranks among the six
diseases with a high morbidity and mortality rates in the Philippines, is
getting world attention that the World Health Organization (WHO)
recommended a strategy called Directly Observed Treatment Short Course (TB
DOTS).
This came after health authorities noted program failures in
the past and these were largely due to the perception that the patient stops
the treatment when he feels well after a few days of medical regimen. .
This, according to the health experts, only makes a bigger problem
out of the disease because the bacteria could morph into a multi-drug resistant
TB, a rather complicated case.
In some instances, patients undergoing treatment sometimes forget
to take the medicines that they have unwittingly strengthened the bacteria
enough to become resistant to other medicines in the treatment package, Rances
said.
To be able to reach out to the patients, TB DOTS employs five
components: government commitment, case detection, standard length of treatment
observed by a health care worker for at least the first two months, a reliable
drug supply and a standard reporting and monitoring that allows results
assessment.
Already with free drug treatment for TB, the government extended
its programs to the localities by setting up TB DOTS Centers in Rural Health
Units and government health facilities and hospitals, Rances said.
To get to those in need of treatment just as Bohol suffers a sub
par 67% case detection rate which is far from the international
standard of 90%, the government is set to open up treatment centers
even in private hospitals.
Provincial health authorities believe this can help them increase
their cure rate, that as soon as a case is detected, the stigma of going to the
public treatment centers can be minimized by opting for the more secretive
private hospitals.
Even then, Rances, who is a nurse by profession, reminds Boholanos
that TB is never something one must be ashamed of, because there are already
treatments available.
All they need to do is go to the nearest PHU or private hospital
of choice offering TB DOTS and then treatment can start, he said.
In private hospitals however, while drugs are free, diagnostic
examinations and medical supplies used in the drug administration may be
charged. (rmn/rac/PIA-7/Bohol)