TRECE MARTIRES CITY (PIA) – Provincial health executives in Cavite recently broke ground for the first public tuberculosis culture and drug susceptibility testing laboratory at the ancillary building of the General Emilio Aguinaldo Memorial Hospital here.
Dr. Eva Marie Torio, Department of Health (DOH) infectious diseases unit head, said tuberculosis is one of the major health problems in the province.
“The establishment of the TB culture lab is essential in the diagnosis, monitoring, and treating of drug-resistant TB as well as improving the TB management turnaround time,” she added.
During the groundbreaking, district Board Member and health committee chair Reyniel Ambion on behalf of Governor Jonvic Remulla and Vice Governor Athena Tolentino thanked everyone involved in the project.
“This project will benefit healthcare providers and those who are infected with TB as they need not travel to other hospitals outside Cavite for laboratory testing,” Ambion said.
The Philippines ranks fourth among the 30 high-TB burden countries with an estimated 599,000 TB cases, and seventh among the high multidrug resistant TB-burden countries, according to the World Health Organization.
Provincial Health Officer Dr. Nelson Soriano was hopeful that with the province’s capacity and logistics for diagnosing tuberculosis, the occurrence of infection can be averted. (RBF/PIA-Cavite with reports from PICAD)
