Stigma on TB prevents patients from seeking medical treatment

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY - The stigma surrounding people afflicted with tuberculosis (TB) has prevented patients from seeking medical treatment, according to Dr. Claire Paglinawan, Acting Assistant City Health Officer.

“People are still afraid of the illness,” she said, adding based on available data, TB cases in Cagayan de Oro in 2023 reached 5,364, but those who completed the cycle of treatment only reached 4,383.

Meanwhile, the first quarter of 2024 has already detected 1,000 TB cases.

Paglinawan said TB cases are distributed throughout all age brackets, but the majority of them are adults, especially those working from 30 to 50 years old, mostly male.

“Ang uban man gud dili taga-Cagayan niuli sa ila. Ang uban sad kay nagpa-private, ang uban pud naay small percentage nga niundang nga wala na nagpatambal, dili na namo ma-trace,” Paglinawan explained.

TB has also evolved through the years, from normal TB to drug-resistant TB. Treatment for normal TB can be done through the first line of drugs with four types of medicines, while drug-resistant TB requires more and stronger medicines.

In the past, some TB patients did not finish their treatment for six months and would stop at the second month because they would already feel relieved, but through this, the bacteria evolved. This introduced drug-resistant TB.

TB is a highly infectious pulmonary infection where bacteria called Mycobacterium tuberculosis usually infect the lungs, but Paglinawan clarified that there are also those called extra pulmonary tuberculosis that can infect other parts of the body, such as the brain, central nervous system, bones, joints, and gastrointestinal system, among others.

TB usually starts with a cough. Particularly, there are four cardinal symptoms of TB: chronic cough for two weeks or more; unexplained fever, low grade and chronic; unexplained weight loss, despite not trying to lose weight; and also night sweats, even if it is cold.

Aside from the four cardinal symptoms, it could be that there is no cough. In some extra-pulmonary cases, there is no cough, but they are just weak; the possibility of TB could be in other parts of the body.

Paglinawan urged patients to have themselves checked by a doctor because it is not easy to determine if it is truly TB.

For this year, the Department of Health (DOH) has set a ceiling that the city health office must find 638 TB cases per 10,000 people. Among the strategies they have instilled is the compulsory x-ray for those who will get health certificates from the CHO, visiting far-flung areas and jails, and raising public awareness through media guesting, among others. (Jasper Marie O. Rucat)