THE district offices of the City Health Office will hold free Chest X-Rays for sectors vulnerable to tuberculosis (TB).
“Naay mga schedule ang atoang 17 health districts diri sa Davao nga naay ipahigayon nga libre nga Chest X-ray sa ilahang mga distrito. Ang tawag ana is Active Case Finding, pasabot kami mismo sa district health centers, City Health Office mangita og mga tao nga pwede nato i-screen, tan-awon ba nato kung kani ba sila sakit sa baga,” said John Anthony Tinio, Nurse Transition Program (NTP) Davao Chest Center, as the activity coincides with the National Tuberculosis Month.
Among the target groups, Tinio said, are members of the transport sector and close contacts of people who are taking medication for tuberculosis, and the community itself.
He added that the free chest X-Ray offered in district health centers is in the form of X-Ray vouchers and it is the initiative of the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP), with the Department of Health.
“We continue to provide this service as long as the Memorandum of Agreement with PBSP stands. This service is available daily provided that they qualify as presumptive TB patients,” he added, pointing out that there is a need to find those who were infected with the illness.
ACF is done among the vulnerable groups that have a higher chance of getting infected with TB and is an activity being conducted by different facilities/health centers throughout the year.
Tinio said the activity is on top of the activities for this month’s observance, which included an awareness symposium on stigma and anti-discrimination of people with TB cases held on August 23 at People’s Park. They are also plotting schedules for TB awareness in the districts so that people may know more about it, including free examination and medication offered by CHO for confirmed cases.
“Ang TB tinuod na siya nga sakit, existing na siya na sakit. Gawas ani ang TB matambalan dili kinahanglan itago kung naa kay sakit ani. Libre ang tambal sa TB, from start to finish na siya,” he said.
Tinio said that the free medication is conducted within six months. To avail of this, based on their regular order of business, clients may go to their health centers and be checked to know if they have Tuberculosis. The Chest Center or District Health Center will interview and assess the patient, they are usually required to submit a Chest X-Ray result, which will be crossed-check with the sputum GeneXpert or laboratory examination of the phlegm sample. The laboratory, however, will also require a COVID-19 clearance.
The COVID-19 clearance may be obtained through submitting either of these: Barangay Certification that you are not listed as Persons Under Investigation (PUI) or Persons under Monitoring (PUM), note or referral from an attending physician that the disease of the patient is not COVID-19 related, or Reverse Polymerase Chain Reaction Test (RT-PCR) test.
“Ang kalahian sa COVID-19 compared to TB, ang COVID-19 virus sya, ang TB is bacteria nga kinahanglan nimo muinom og anti-tuberculosis medicine para maayo ka (The difference of COVID-19 compared to TB, Covid-19 is a virus, and TB is a bacteria and you need to drink anti-tuberculosis medicine for you to be treated),” he said.
After obtaining a COVID-19 clearance, those who have symptoms will be further tested. The GeneXpert test results will come out after 48-72 hours. Once confirmed positive, the treatment will start.
Tinio added that those who are applying for jobs who are positive for TB are given immediate treatment and after two weeks of medication and a follow-up negative sputum test, proving they can no longer transmit TB, then their medical certificate will be released.
“Dili pasabot magkasakit nakag TB dili naka manarbaho. Pwede gihapon manarbaho, makahatag nata ug medical certificate after two weeks of medication kini once ma-rule out na dili ka makatakod, (Having been diagnosed with TB does not mean that you cannot work anymore. You may still work two weeks after taking medication and if it is ruled out that you cannot transmit the disease, we can already release the medical certificate),” he said.
Those who are interested in availing of the services of the CHO for TB may go to their district health offices or the Davao Chest Center located on Villa Abrille St. in front of the Regency Inn.
