Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Teodoro Herbosa revealed on Wednesday, Feb. 14, that the Philippines is the fourth country in the world with the highest tuberculosis (TB) incidence.

"Ibig sabihin nito, ang bansa pala natin ay nagpo-produce ng TB at ikinakalat sa mundo, 4th tayo sa highest burden of illness, tatlong bansa lang ang nauna sa atin (This means that our country is actually producing TB and spreading it to the world; we rank 4th in the highest burden of illness, with only three countries ahead of us)," he said during an interview with Radyo Pilipinas.

Herbosa shed light on two critical issues exacerbating the TB situation—the reluctance of individuals with TB to seek treatment at barangay health centers due to social stigma and the shortage of TB medications, forcing affected individuals to bear the financial burden or interrupt their treatment.

To address these challenges, Herbosa outlined several strategies, including ensuring consistent availability of TB medications at treatment centers, ramping up testing efforts with support from international agencies, and emphasizing the importance of completing the “full six-month treatment” regimen.

He urged the public to take advantage of free medication provided by the government and emphasized the importance of “completing the treatment” to curb the spread of TB and mitigate antibiotic resistance.

The Health chief also mentioned that another problem arises when a person with TB takes medication for just one month.

After one month, symptoms may no longer be felt, but Herbosa reminded that the six-month treatment regimen “must be completed” and not stopped because multiple drug resistance in TB is increasing.

"Nagkakaroon ng antibiotic resistance so dumadami. Ito ang mga kaso natin, 'yung 'di natatapos ang treatment at pangalawa ay 'yung latent TB, ‘yun ang sinasabing may halak lang pero 'pag ine-Xray ay TB na pala (There is antibiotic resistance, so cases are increasing. These are our cases, those who do not finish their treatment, and second is latent TB, which is said to be asymptomatic but when X-rayed, turns out to be TB)," he said.

Meanwhile, the Health Chief stated that before, only sputum testing and microscopy were done, but now there is molecular testing similar to the PCR test for Covid-19.

With this, TB can be detected quickly, and treatment can be initiated.

He emphasized that findings are increasing, and TB cases are also rising, but at least they are being treated.

"Ang objective namin sa TB ay atleast walang Filipino na mamamatay because of TB dahil treatable na sya (Our objective for TB is that no Filipino will die because of TB because it is treatable now)," he said.

Notably, Herbosa highlighted the positive development of shorter treatment options, reducing the duration to four months, with experimental treatments potentially shortening it even further.

Furthermore, Herbosa emphasized the importance of early detection and comprehensive treatment to effectively address TB in the Philippines.

He expressed optimism that with concerted efforts and targeted interventions, the country can improve its TB situation and eventually remove itself from the list of nations burdened by high TB prevalence.