Rolando Quimpo, a carpenter who sports a pony tail, wears earrings and a sleeveless shirt, is not shy to show his daily card checks that indicate how he religiously took his daily oral tuberculosis medication for eight months, two months longer than usual.
A recent sputum test, the golden standard of TB tests, gave the 50-year-old grandfather a clean bill of health. He has also distanced himself from cigarettes and alcohol. Now, if he could only get carpentry jobs more often.
Quimpo and his wife were running an almusalan (breakfast nook offering cheap porridge and noodles at P5 to P10 per serving) but they had to stop when Quimpo was found to have TB. With Quimpo cured, they are now back in business.
Joel Alluson, 37, a father of two who works as a "freelancer sa Banawe" (he does odd jobs on Banawe Avenue, a car parts retail strip) "graduated" in December 2006 from his six-month daily treatment and is now TB-free. But he still has to have his regular checkup. He first learned about the anti-TB treatment from a TV ad.
The Quimpos and Allusons live in the congested Tatalon area in Quezon City where most houses are cramped, with little breathing space. Infectious diseases like TB spread easily if a sick person remains untreated. A tracking and monitoring system is key. Tatalon barangay volunteer worker Iluminada Basilio does her rounds to check on patients.
By Ma. Ceres P. DoyoPhilippine Daily Inquirer, 03/23/2007
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See related story "World Stop TB Day" from WHO.
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