SOCIAL stigma continues to hinder people afflicted with tuberculosis (TB) from seeking immediate treatment, the regional office of the Department of Health (DOH-7) said yesterday.
DOH-7 nurse Junie May Marino said some people still feel ashamed about letting people know they have TB while others neglected or stopped taking medication.
Marino said tuberculosis cases in Central Visayas rose to 9,772 from January to July this year compared to more than 6,000 for the same period last year.
She said the DOH-7 recorded more than 19,000 TB cases last year.
“We have two cases of TB. The first called drug susceptible cases can be cured by first line drugs up to six months while multi-drug resistant cases can be cured by second line of drugs that require 18–24 months of treatment,” Marino said.
Marino said the government is spending a lot of money for free medicines under the Tuberculosis Directly-Observed Treatment Short Course (TB-DOTS) program.
“But the problem is the others forget to take their medicine. The others drop from the program. It’s important to remind the patients so their condition won’t worsen and the medicines won’t lose their effectiveness,” she said.
Senior citizens, indigenous settlers, jail inmates and residents of slum areas are most vulnerable to tuberculosis.
Marino said the DOH-7 partners with local governments in providing medicines to inmates.