COVID-19 Eases, Don't Forget TBC: Indonesia Contributes To The Third Largest Cases In The World, Takes 200 Lives Every Day

A nurse checks the infusion of a Tuberculosis (TBC) patient who is being treated at the Doris Sylvanus Hospital, Palangkaraya, Central Kalimantan, Friday (13/3/2020). (ANTARA/Meaning of Zaezar)

JAKARTA - Tuberculosis (TB) is still one of the deadliest infectious diseases in the world. At the global level, TB is included in the category of a threatening disease, because the risk of death is relatively high. WHO noted, in 2022 there will be 28,000 people with TB per day. There are 4100 die every day. This number makes tuberculosis a dangerous disease above HIV/AIDS.

Indonesia is the third country that contributes the most TB cases in the world in 2021 with 824 thousand cases. Under India 2.5 million cases and China 842,000 cases.

TB disease caused by the Mycobacterium tuberculosis virus is included in the infectious disease group, the second highest cause of death after COVID-19. This disease has killed 1.5 million people in 2018. After the COVID-19 pandemic hit for more than two years, Indonesia should not be careless in controlling TB.

The Indonesian Ministry of Health in a virtual press conference on March 24 through the Director of Infectious Disease Prevention and Control (P2PM) Didik Budijanto said that of the 824,000 TB patients in Indonesia, only 49 percent were recorded and under treatment. There are still 500 thousand people who have not been treated and are at risk of being a source of transmission. This year the Indonesian Ministry of Health plans to conduct a large-scale screening to find and treat these cases.

The 73rd UN General Assembly in 2018, which raised the important issue of global cooperation in treating tuberculosis. (AMONG)

"Therefore, efforts to find cases as early as possible, complete treatment until recovery is one of the most important efforts in deciding TB transmission in the community," said Didik.

Screening will be carried out with X-Ray Artificial Intelligence equipment, in order to provide fast and accurate TB diagnosis results. With 500 thousand cases recorded, it will accelerate the elimination of TB in 2030.

91 percent of TB cases in Indonesia are pulmonary tuberculosis which has the potential to be transmitted to healthy people around them. TB cases that have been found and treated for TB are currently carried out in several areas such as Banten, Gorontalo, DKI Jakarta, North Sulawesi and West Sulawesi. Meanwhile, the most concentrated areas with TB are Java, such as DKI Jakarta, West Java, East Java, and Central Java.

Bogor Regency with the Most Cases

Bogor Regency, based on data from the 2021 Bogor Regency Health Office, was recorded as the highest contributor to TB cases in West Java. There are a total of 15,074 cases in the region, and only 80 percent have been verified. The wave of the COVID-19 pandemic for two years has become a big challenge in handling TB.

It is also very important to educate the public about the early symptoms of TB. There is still an assumption that TB only attacks adults, even though children are at risk of contracting it. TB is transmitted through droplets and attacks the body's organs, especially the lungs.

It must be known that the initial symptoms of TB in a person can be a cough, because it attacks the respiratory tract and respiratory organs. Coughing with phlegm continuously for 2-3 weeks or more, then shortness of breath, chest pain, weakness, and feeling unwell. Decreased appetite, weight loss, and usually what appears is sweating at night even though you are not doing any activities.

Illustration of tuberculosis treatment. (Unsplash)

The treatment process takes a long time, 6-9 months with a minimum of four kinds of drugs prescribed by a doctor. Discipline and regularity of taking medication to completion is one of the important factors in the treatment of tuberculosis.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a press release stated, for research and development of TB treatment, an additional US$1.1 billion per year is required. Investment support is needed to develop innovative research, in order to detect, prevent and treat TB to save millions of lives.

TB is not a local disease, but has been a global concern for a long time. The Stop TB Partnership Indonesia Institute reminds every day more than 2,300 people fall ill due to TB. This preventable and treatable infectious disease has also claimed more than 200 lives every day.

The cooperation of all countries in the world is needed to achieve the elimination of TB by 2030. Especially in the midst of the emergence of new infectious diseases such as COVID-19. We are reminded again about the dangers of TB. It takes collaboration to control it.