Tuberculosis remains one of major causes of death in PH

By Ma. Teresa Montemayor

August 18, 2023, 4:39 pm

MANILA – The Department of Health (DOH) on Friday said tuberculosis is still one of the 10 leading
causes of death in the Philippines despite the availability of treatment.

Latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority show that 15,689 out of 563,465 recorded deaths
among Filipinos from January to November 2022 were categorized under respiratory tuberculosis.

"From the period of January to December 2022, tuberculosis was noted as the 10th leading cause of
death among Filipinos and the number of cases of tuberculosis in all forms according to FHSIS [Field
Health Services Information System] 2022 is 119,558," DOH's Health Promotion Bureau officer Dr.
Alfonso Regala said in a media forum.

The other leading causes of deaths in the country last year according to mortality rate were ischemic
heart diseases (103,628), cerebrovascular diseases (57,411), neoplasms (57,354), diabetes mellitus
(35,712), hypertensive diseases (32,339), pneumonia (27,261), chronic lower respiratory diseases
(18,514), other heart diseases (18,489), and remainder of diseases of the genitourinary system (15,806).

Regala explained that tuberculosis is caused by a bacteria called mycobacterium tuberculosis which
usually affects the lungs (pulmonary tuberculosis) but it can also damage other parts of the body like the
bones and the brain (extrapulmonary tuberculosis).

"Kumakalat ang mikrobiyo ng tuberculosis sa hangin kapag umuubo, nagsasalita o kumakanta ang
infected person (The tuberculosis bacteria spread in the air when an infected person coughs, speaks, or
sings)," he said. "Maaaring malanghap ng mga taong nasa malapit ang mikrobyong ito at mahawa
(People who are near may inhale the bacteria and get infected)."
Individuals who have weak immune system -- babies, young children, people living with HIV (human
immunodeficiency virus), persons who have diabetes, silicosis, cancer, leukemia, Hodgkin's disease and
kidney disease -- and are underweight are prone to having tuberculosis.

Symptoms include coughing, high fever at night, sweating at night, chest pain, weight loss, loss of
appetite, coughing up blood and getting tired easily.

It can be diagnosed through direct sputum smear microscopy, chest X-ray and Gene Xpert.

"What we endorse is prevention other than treatment, it's important for us to follow healthy habits that
includes eating right, exercising and adequate hydration," Regala said.

He advised individuals with tuberculosis symptoms to consult a doctor immediately and to take all the
prescribed medications to avoid developing a drug-resistant type of the disease that may affect the
community.

The DOH endorses the directly-observed treatment short course (DOTS) which could last from six to 10
months to reduce the number of tuberculosis cases in the country. (PNA)

The Philippine News Agency is a web-based newswire service of the Philippine government under the
supervision of the News and Information Bureau (NIB) of the Presidential Communications Office (PCO).

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By Ercel Maandig

August 13, 2023, 8:17 pm

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – The Heart Institute of state-run Amai Pakpak Medical Center (APMC) in
Marawi City has started performing operations after opening the facility on Friday.

On Sunday, doctors of the APMC Heart Institute culminated their Cardiovascular Surgical Mission, which
is in its third year.

The Philippine Heart Center (PHC) led the first mission at APMC in 2021 to expedite the adoption of
APMC as a regional heart center.

APMC is a Level 3 teaching-training hospital with residency training programs for Internal Medicine,
Pediatric, Surgery, Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Anesthesiology.

With the addition of its Heart Institute, the hospital will serve as a regional referral center for the
Bangsamoro region and other Mindanao regions.

It is equipped with Cardiovascular Catheterization Laboratory, Cardiovascular Operating Room, Surgical

"The establishment of APMC Heart Institute is in line with the thrust of Universal Health Care and is part
of the mandate of Department of Health (DOH) to explore the regionalization of health care," said Dr.
Abdullah Dumama Jr., DOH Undersecretary for Visayas and Mindanao.
The initiative of the PHC for their 2012 Performance Governance System is to decentralize
cardiovascular care and increase access to such services.

APMC chief Dr. Shalimar S. Rakiin said patients can avail of all government benefits for very minimal
charges.

The 438-bed APMC’s government grant ranges from PHP100 to PHP200 million. It also received USD1.5
million from the King Salman Foundation of Saudi Arabia last year.

To date, the Heart Institute has spent PHP150 million from DOH's general appropriations allocation.
(PNA)

Nearly 300 dengue deaths recorded so far this year - DOH

By Ma. Teresa Montemayor

July 31, 2023, 2:34 pm

MANILA – The country has recorded 299 dengue deaths from Jan. 1 to July 15 this year out of the total
80,318 cases.

The Department of Health (DOH) said that 39 or 13 percent of these deaths had dengue without
warning signs.

"Continuous increase in dengue cases was observed since morbidity week 14, cases reported in the
recent three to four weeks show a 16 percent increase, with 9,486 cases, compared to the previous two
weeks," the DOH said.

"Among morbidity weeks 1 to 28 cases, 1.23 percent or 990 had severe dengue."

All regions except Cagayan Valley, Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and Caraga
showed an increase in cases over the recent three to four weeks.
The DOH noted that cases may still increase due to late reports.

It describes dengue as the fastest-spreading vector-borne disease in the world that is endemic in 100
countries.

The disease has no cure but can be managed if detected early.

The public is encouraged to beat dengue through the 4S strategy: search and destroy, seek early
consultation; self-protection measures; and say yes to fogging during outbreaks.

Malaria cases

Two new cases of malaria, a life-threatening disease caused by parasites that are transmitted to people
through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes, were added to the 31 reported last June 6,
part of the clustering of malaria cases in Barangay Irawan, Puerto Princesa City in Palawan that started
last April 26.

As of July 15, about 30 cases had recovered while three cases are still active.

The DOH said cases were managed at the Irawan Barangay Health Station.

Cases range from one month to 59 years old with a median of 19 years old. About 17 or 52 percent of
the cases are females.
Affected cases were from five different puroks in the barangay which include Zone 14 (26 cases), Zone
12 (four cases), Zone 13 (one case), Purok Magsasaka (one case), Purok Masagana (one case).

Palawan is the only province that was not declared malaria-free in 2022. The DOH is aiming to reduce
malaria cases in Palawan to zero by 2026. (PNA)