At least one Dagupeño dies every week from tuberculosis (TB), a curable ailment.

To address this situation, Councilor Jesus Canto has called on the city’s private medical practitioners to refer indigent patients afflicted with TB to the government’s Directly Observed Treatment Short course (DOTS), which offers free treatment.

The DOTS was established in line with the local government’s thrust to make the city TB-free by the year 2015. Canto formalized the request to the Pangasinan Medical Society through a resolution approved by the city council Monday.

Canto, himself a physician and once served as head of the Region 1 Medical Center in Dagupan, said  TB ranks as the sixth leading cause of mortality and morbidity in Dagupan City.

He added that of the total number of TB patients who seek medical treatment, about 30% to 40% percent consult private   health care providers, but sometimes stop due to financial constraints.

The DOTS is offered at the city government’s health office, Region 1 Medical Center and the privately-owned Villaflor Hospital.

Under the DOTS, a patient is assured of six months to one year free treatment.

Canto noted that the Philippines ranks ninth in the world out of 22 highly- burdened countries and second in the Western Pacific region, next to Cambodia, in terms of TB incidents.

About 75 Filipinos die from TB everyday and an estimated 270,000 new cases are detected every year and more than 60% of the population will be infected and at risk of developing the active disease. #

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