DOH to hold TB screening, gives vaccines to students

IN celebration of the Lung Month this August, the Department of Health in Central Visayas (DOH-7) will hold a mass tuberculosis (TB) screening in Tangke National High School in Talisay City.

A total of 537 students from grades 7 to 10 will undergo the testing.

DOH-7 TB coordinator, Dr. Sharon Laurel, said there is a low chance of TB prevalence among this younger generation, but they wanted to make sure that they are protected.

Laurel said there was an increase of TB cases in the Central Visayas based on the number of people who sought medications from 15,868 in 2014 to 18,732 in 2015.

Laurel advised those suffering from cough for at least two weeks to seek medication at their nearest health center.

Laurel said they also have been conducting TB screenings in city jails. The first TB mass screening was held last March at the male dormitory of the Cebu City Jail wherein around 400 inmates tested positive.

The other jails they would be visited include the Cebu City Jail female dormitory, Lapu-Lapu City Jail, Mandaue City Jail and the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center.

Meanwhile, the DOH-7 has started giving measles, rubella, tetanus and diphtheria vaccines to public school students in Cebu province last Monday.
The immunization schedule for Cebu City schools will start next week.

More than 300,000 Grade 1 and Grade 7 students in all public schools in the entire region are expected to benefit from the program. This will be a month-long immunization program covering 3,741 schools in Central Visayas.

Dr. Emmelie Silao, medical officer of DOH-7, requested the parents to avail of this free immunization for their children. She said private schools may also avail of the vaccines by writing a letter of intent to the DOH-7.