Tangerang Health Office: TB Patients Increase And Attack Productive Age

Illustration - TB Case (ANTARA/HO)

TANGERANG - The Tangerang Regency Health Office (Dinkes), Banten, said the number of tuberculosis or tuberculosis cases in the region had increased to reach 9,000 cases with patients aged between 18 and 45 years. "Based on the data we recorded in 2022, there were approximately 8,941 or 9,000 cases that we detected," said Head of the Tangerang District Health Office, Dr Muchlis in Tangerang, Antara, Wednesday, July 26. If it is estimated that the total population of Tangerang Regency is 4 million with a prevalence of TB 282 per 100 thousand people, then there are around 9,000 TB sufferers with Batang Tahan Asam/BTA or phlegm containing live TB germs, positive spread across the region. According to him, the cause of the high number of TB cases was due to the lack of public awareness of self-health and transmission because there were still many houses that were not healthy. "Now the problem is the lack of public awareness in treating TB, plus from the family side and the surrounding environment," he said. He said the transmission of TB is almost the same as COVID-19, namely through phlegm splashes. "The exact transmission method is the case of COVID-19, through direct interaction with the patient or through saliva," he said. Therefore, people who have TB symptoms such as coughing for two weeks or more will immediately check themselves into health care facilities. "If there are symptoms of cough for more than two weeks, weight drops, fever, and if they sweat at night, they must immediately come to the puskesmas," he said. So far, TB disease in Indonesia, he continued, has been ranked second after India with the predicted number of cases ranging from 969 thousand or the prevalence count touched 354 per 100,000 population.

"So actually the TB case from ancient times has not been completed. The hope is that later in this TB elimination program, it will not eliminate but reduce it. Later at the end of 2030 it can reach 65 people from 100 thousand population," said Muchlis.