Iloilo city: The Iloilo City Health Office is actively promoting tuberculosis preventive therapy (TPT) as a measure to prevent latent tuberculosis infections from advancing into active disease forms. Latent tuberculosis can become active when an individual's immune system weakens, presenting no initial signs or symptoms unlike its active counterpart, which is marked by symptoms such as cough, fever, or back pain.

According to Philippines News Agency, Nurse IV Estrella Fortuna, the national tuberculosis program coordinator for Iloilo City, emphasized in a recent press conference that individuals within the target population for TPT are required to take specific medications designed to eliminate the bacteria responsible for tuberculosis. The treatment regimen must be completed over a six-month period, beyond the initial two-month intensive phase, to prevent the infection from relapsing and becoming resistant to first-line drugs.

Tuberculosis, an infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, primarily impacts the lungs but can be both curable and preventable. However, due to its airborne nature, it can spread through droplet infection triggered by sneezing, coughing, or spitting. The TPT initiative focuses on all household contacts of active TB cases, children under the age of five, and vulnerable groups such as individuals living with human immunodeficiency virus, diabetics, and malnourished children.

Active case findings have reported 2,040 positive cases in 2025, and presumptive cases can be screened at district health centers. Fortuna highlighted that the health office has deployed X-ray vans providing free chest X-rays in villages to aid in early detection and treatment efforts.