Dr. L. Masae Kawamura, former president of the North American Region of the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, told reporters in press forum on Aug. 15, 2013, about the rising statistics of Filipino patients suffering from TB who are migrating to the United States. She said large proportion of tuberculosis patients in the US are Asians, most of them Filipinos. Video by RYAN LEAGOGO/蜜桃工作室
MANILA, Philippines鈥擜 large proportion of tuberculosis patients in the US are Asians, most of them Filipinos, a San-Francisco based medical expert has disclosed.
Dr. L. Masae Kawamura, former president of the North American Region of the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, told reporters last week about the rising statistics of Filipino patients suffering from TB who are migrating to the United States.
She said Thursday in a press forum that TB is an 鈥渙utcome of poor public health.鈥� She appealed to the local government and health offices to prioritize early TB screening and bolster treatment in the country.
鈥淭he Philippines exports more tuberculosis patients than import at this point鈥� TB is a disease of poverty and migration, and urbanization [because] people are moving from the rural countryside to the big cities like Manila,鈥� said Kawamura.
Ranking second in Asia, the Philippines recorded high TB mortality rate next to Cambodia based on the World Health Organization (WHO) tuberculosis report. Among tuberculosis-afflicted persons, 59 percent came from Asia, the report said.
Kawamura said that tuberculosis can be latent, a condition where the infected does not experience any symptoms.
鈥淭o minimize the spread of tuberculosis and an outbreak risk, the government should work on providing a screening for people in congregate settings such as dialysis units, schools, hospitals, jails, prisons, homeless shelters and nursing homes,鈥� she said.
The medical expert claimed that Filipinos living in crowded places, especially those in shanty communities, are more likely to develop and transmit TB.
鈥淗aving latent TB even though no one鈥檚 at fault carries a lot of stigma especially among Filipinos. The Philippines has a lot of people coming in from other parts of Asia that have high rates of TB as well,鈥� she said.
According to Kawamura, the Philippine government detects only the full-blown TB cases rather than the latent ones.
鈥淚t easily evades our immune system and you may carry it as a child but be diagnosed with the disease 50 years later,鈥� she said.
She added that accurate identification of latent TB bacteria is required since these persist in our body for years and decades; they are only inactive.
Kawamura also stressed that contributors could increase an individual鈥檚 chance of getting TB.
鈥淏ecause it affects most of the children, just dealing with malnutrition will help beat tuberculosis. Preventing HIV and diabetes will help reduce TB cases as well. This is how it all interacts,鈥� she said.
The TB control advocate also claimed that 鈥渂ecause we breathe, we are all susceptible. Tuberculosis is an equal-opportunity disease. We can all get infected.鈥�