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One new TB case diagnosed a week
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Posted on Mar 14 2006
Tuberculosis remains rampant in the Commonwealth, with one new TB case diagnosed each week in 2005, according to the Department of Public Health.
CNMI Tuberculosis Control program director Richard Brostrom reported yesterday that there have been about 500 TB cases in the Commonwealth since 1998. This number includes 57 new cases diagnosed in 2005.
The CNMI has the highest TB rate in the United States, he added.
In the U.S. mainland, only one in 100,000 people is likely to contract TB. In Hawaii, the ratio is 13:100,000 while in Guam, it is 20:100,000. But in the CNMI, the ratio is 80:100,000.
ÅgThe number has always been high, even before the CNMI allowed foreign workers in,Åh Brostrom said during Saipan Rotary Club’s weekly meeting at the Hyatt Regency.
He also said, however, that the TB rate among Chinese and Filipino workers in the Commonwealth was exactly the same as in their respective countries. He added that a number of foreign workers diagnosed with TB came to the islands without any symptoms of the disease.
Brostrom also stressed that the Commonwealth had an aggressive TB control program. Each of those diagnosed with the disease were treated for free.
ÅgWe have no illusions that we can eradicate TB, but we would certainly like the number of TB cases to go down,Åh he said.
According to a DPH informational booklet, a person with active TB germs may cough a lot, feel weak, have a fever, lose weight, cough up blood, or sweat a lot at night.
TB germs may be passed to other people when a person who has active TB coughs, sneezes, laughs, sings, or talks.
People can breathe in TB germs if they are living or have frequent close contact with someone with active TB who is not getting proper treatment.
A TB skin test can tell if someone has TB germs.
Those interested in learning more about TB may call the CNMI Tuberculosis Program at 236-8736.
