DOH brings TB DOTS Center inside Baguio City Jail

Friday 23rd of March 2012

BAGUIO CITY, March 23 (PIA) -- The Department of Health (DOH), in partnership with the City Health Services Office and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) , will be bringing in the Tuberculosis Directly Observed Treatment Short-course (TB DOTS) inside the Baguio City Jail.

This is in line with the celebration of World TB Day on March 24.

Based on the study conducted by the University of the Philippines (UP), Tuberculosis is the second leading cause of mortality inside jails which is mainly due to its crowded population and surrounding.

Accordingly, the prevalence of TB in prisons is three to four times higher than the general public.

According to City Epidemiology Surveillance Unit chief, Dr. Donnabel Tubera, the putting up of a TB DOTS center inside Baguio City Jail will be the first in Northern Luzon.

Tubera disclosed that they have provided the needed medical trainings to 10 BJMP health personnel and the DOH, aside from helping put up the clinic will also provide the needed medical supply.

The center will be directly monitoring and treating of possible TB cases inside the city jail.

Tubera disclosed that the City HSO has successfully implemented treatment to four TB cases inside the city jail through DOTS. She also informed that aside from the TB DOTC Center in Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center (BGHMC), SLU Hospital, Notre Dame Hospital and the City HSO, all the 16 Health Centers in the city are also accredited DOTS Centers.

TB DOTS is a major plank in the World Health Organization’s (WHO) global plan to stop TB. It is the internationally recommended strategy for TB control that has been recognized as a highly efficient and cost-effective and being employed worldwide to attain the Millenium Development Goal of cutting cases of TB by half in 2015.

The DOTS comprises five components:Sustained political and financial commitment;Diagnosis by quality ensured sputum-smear microscopy; Standardized short-course anti-TB treatment (SCC) given under direct and supportive observation (DOT);A regular, uninterrupted supply of high quality anti-TB drugs and Standardized recording and reporting.

On the importance of proper monitoring and treatment of TB through DOTS, Tubera stressed that if TB will be left undetected and untreated, there will only be three end-results which are death, for patient to develop a Multi-drug resistant TB and also be a carrier of MDR-TB.

“MDR-TB is more expensive to treat, it will cost the government about P500,000 to treat each patient. So far only BGHMC has an MDR-TB Treatment center here in Baguio which also has already recorded 11 drug resistant TB cases”, Tubera added.

She explained that MDR TB is resistant to two or more of the primary drugs (isoniazied and rifampin) used for the treatment of tuberculosis. Resistance to one or several forms of treatment occurs when the bacteria develops the ability to withstand antibiotic attack.

The main cause of drug-resistant tuberculosis based on studies is inadequate treatment or improper use of the anti-tuberculosis medications.

Tubera reiterated to the public that TB is curable and the government is providing the treatment for free. (JDP/LD-PIA CAR)