In 1996, President Fidel V. Ramos declared August 19, 1996, as National Tuberculosis (TB) Day under Proclamation no. 840, s. 1996, signed on July 30, 1996. Furthermore, it was a sign of tribute to former President Manuel L. Quezon's birthdate, August 19, 1878, who died due to tuberculosis in the year 1944. Thus, National TB Day is celebrated every year on August 19.
The Department of Health spearheads national TB day in developing and implementing a national strategic plan together with the various sectors, Local Government Units, and Non-government organizations to significantly reduce the problem of tuberculosis through the channels of the Department of Education on increasing awareness primarily to students and their families and Local Government Units to ensure TB symptomatic may access diagnostic services primarily sputum examinations and anti-TB drugs mechanism for ensuring TB treatments as embodied in the Comprehensive Health Care Agreement of the Department of Health (CDAsia, 1996).
As systemic lesions result from bacterial-immune interactions, tuberculosis (TB) is a bacterial infection caused by the intercellular pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Additionally, the pathophysiology of this disease includes aerosolization, phagocytosis, phagolysome blockage and replication, T-helper response, granuloma formation, clinical manifestations, and culminates with active disease and transmission (Maison, 2022).
Tuberculosis is mainly spread by inhaling tiny droplets from an infected person's coughs or sneezes, but it can also spread after being exposed to an infected person for an extended period of time. As a result, it primarily affects the lungs and any part of the body, including the abdomen, glands, bones, and nervous system. It is also a potentially severe condition considered contagious, whether symptomatic or asymptomatic (NHS website, 2021).
The following are the most typical signs of tuberculosis: coughs that typically linger for more than three weeks with the presence of mucus that may be bloody, unintentional weight loss, night sweats, high temperatures, exhaustion and fatigue, loss of appetite, and swellings of the neck.
According to Blanco, 2022 a call for nutrition care and support for tuberculosis patients is vital for management as an adequate diet of essential macro and micronutrients is required for managing and preventing the progression of the disease through inducing vitamins, A, C, D, and E, B6, Folic acid and minerals of zinc, copper, selenium, and iron that are found in vegetables, fruits, and meat with the aid of 10 Kumainments and Pinggang Pinoy food guides.
A nutrition assessment (anthropometry, biochemical, clinical, and dietary) is provided together with nutrition care for tuberculosis to determine the severity of malnutrition, underlying reasons that can be treated by nutrition, and among patients for effective and appropriate management.
Multiple antibiotics, such as two isoniazid and two rifampicin for six months and two pyrazinamide and two ethambutol for the first few months in 6 months, are used to treat TB in the lungs. A corticosteroid such as prednisolone may be administered for extrapulmonary TB at first. Multidrug-resistant TB is an uncommon variety of TB, although it requires 9 to 24 months of antibiotic treatment.
Moreover, TB treatment has anticipated side effects, such as jaundice, unexplained high body temperature, tingling or numbness at your hands or feet, rashes or itchy skin, and blurry vision. In addition, drug side effects such as isoniazid can cause peripheral neuropathy or nerve damage; thus, you will be given vitamin b6 to reduce the risk (NHS website, 2022).
We must be wary as citizens to prevent this communicable disease through safety measures and should encourage treatment to save the life of others, through this celebration serves as awareness and importance. Tuberculosis is already addressed through government and non-government agencies by giving as many accessible TB treatment services, so we need to be diligent in doing so. #LuthChristianJae Abian/NASLabordo
References:
Blanco, E. M. B. (2022, March 23). Nutrition Care for Tuberculosis. National Nutrition Council. https://www.nnc.gov.ph/regional-offices/luzon/region-iv-b-mimaropa/7359-nutrition-care-for-tuberculosis
CDAsia. (1996, July 30). Proclamation No. 840, s. 1996 | GOVPH. Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. Retrieved August 26, 2022, from https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1996/07/30/proclamation-no-840-s-1996/
Maison, D. P. (2022). Tuberculosis pathophysiology and anti-VEGF intervention. Journal of Clinical Tuberculosis and Other Mycobacterial Diseases, 27, 100300. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jctube.2022.100300
Mayo Clinic Staff. (2021, April 3). Tuberculosis - Symptoms and causes. Mayo Clinic. Retrieved August 26, 2022, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/tuberculosis/symptoms-causes/syc-20351250
NHS website. (2021, November 18). Tuberculosis (TB). Nhs.Uk. Retrieved August 26, 2022, from https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/tuberculosis-tb/#:%7E:text=Tuberculosis%20(TB)%20is%20a%20bacterial,glands%2C%20bones%20and%20nervous%20system.
NHS website. (2022, March 2). Treatment. Nhs.Uk. Retrieved August 26, 2022, from https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/tuberculosis-tb/treatment/#:%7E:text=The%20usual%20treatment%20is%3A,the%206%2Dmonth%20treatment%20period
