MANILA, July 6 (silubaba) -- Arthur Arsenio, a 50-year-old Filipino jeepney driver, stopped plying Metro Manila's streets last week. He skipped work to see a doctor due to a recurring fever, a bout of coughs, and night sweats.
The doctor suspected Arsenio was ill with tuberculosis, a common sickness of drivers exposed to the city's polluted air. The doctor advised Arsenio to have a chest X-ray to identify any potential signs of tuberculosis and prevent the spread of the disease.
The elongated, flatbed passenger jeepney is the most popular mode of public transport in the Philippines. These iconic vehicles have been plying the streets across the Southeast Asian country since World War II.
Arsenio returned to driving without undergoing the X-ray. The costly expense is the major reason why he refuses further medical tests.
Arsenio lives in a rented apartment with his octogenarian father and an older brother. His partner Tina works as a domestic helper and goes home only monthly.
Public transport drivers like Arsenio are among the targets that the health authorities will closely monitor to prevent the spread of tuberculosis, a severe illness mainly affecting the lungs.
The Philippines has seen a resurgence of the highly infectious airborne disease that quickly spreads when people gather in crowds or live in crowded conditions.
"The Philippines continues to be one of the top countries with the high burden of tuberculosis," Philippine Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa said earlier this week, adding about a million Filipinos have active tuberculosis disease.
According to a 2022 report by the World Health Organization (WHO), about 10.6 million are infected with tuberculosis globally, with India, Indonesia, and the Philippines as the major contributors to the increase.
The WHO said around 1.4 million died of tuberculosis in 2021. The Philippines is one of the countries that contribute to the most estimated increase in tuberculosis deaths, along with India, Indonesia, and Myanmar.
The health department will conduct active tuberculosis finding in poor communities, workplaces, crowded jails, residential homes, care facilities, and even health facilities and will also intensify advocacy campaigns to raise public awareness and intervention, Herbosa said.
One of the new anti-tuberculosis thrusts is shortening the treatment to just four months instead of six to nine months to encourage patients like Arsenio not to abandon therapy.
"We've also started to implement other things like artificial intelligence diagnosis with radiology. Through the X-ray, the computer can diagnose the presence or absence of tuberculosis," Herbosa said. ■
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