TB Not Hereditary – DOH6

Iloilo City — The Department of Health (DOH)-6 clarified that tuberculosis (TB) is not a hereditary disease but can be transmitted from person to person through air.

DOH-6 Regional Medical Coordinator for TB Dr. Edith Gimotea said that genetics plays no role in the transmission of the disease but TB is an airborne disease and can be easily contracted by anyone.

“TB is a highly airborne disease and is not hereditary,” she said.

Gimotea also emphasized that the disease cannot be transmitted TB by using an infected person’s drinking glass or eating utensils. Also the infection is not communicated through handshake, toilet, or other surfaces where a TB patient has been.

She said the TB bacterium can be passed through the air when a person infected with TB coughs, speaks, or sneezes.

She also said that people in prolonged, close contact with an infected individual are the most at risk.

People who are most vulnerable are children, the elderly, and people whose physical resistance has been weakened by other diseases or by their lifestyle.

Meanwhile, the DOH-6 reported that the case detection rate (CDR) for TB in Western Visayas has already reached 58 percent for the first and second quarter this year. The target CDR is 100 percent.

In 2015, the TB case detection rate reached 120 percent.

Western Visayas was recognized as the top performing region on TB management for 2015 by the DOH.

Iloilo City also won the Manuel L. Quezon Achievers’ Award given during the DOH 2016 Bayani ng Kalusugan ceremony in Manila last June.

The national anti-tuberculosis (TB) award recognized the city’s effort towards achieving a TB-free country. (JCM/LTP/PIA-Iloilo)