Brostrom, who was the guest speaker at yesterday’s Rotary Club of Saipan meeting at the Hyatt, said most of the tuberculosis cases here and in other Pacific islands are imported.
“The risk of tuberculosis in the CNMI is high because the big number of workers coming in from China and the Philippines could bring health care problems from Beijing and Manila, including tuberculosis, which is much higher in those places,” Brostrom said.
He added that another factor which helps spread tuberculosis is the close living quarters in the CNMI.
“In small island communities, large family gatherings bring in people together and spread TB to a lot of people,” Brostrom said.
The high incident of diabetes on island is also a tuberculosis risk, he added.
Brostrom added that some people don’t go for medical checkup when they detect signs of tuberculosis until it becomes worse and has already spread to other members of the family.
“Maybe they don’t trust the hospitals, or maybe they can’t afford it,” he said.
One of the problems that may arise is when a patient develop drug-resistant tuberculosis, Brostrom said.
He said TV usually can be treated in six months.
“Don’t forget that tuberculosis is a significant problem not only in the CNMI but around the world,” Brostrom said, adding that it is the second leading cause of death worldwide next to malaria.
He said there are many drugs to treat tuberculosis but getting treatment properly is very important.
The economic impact of tuberculosis is staggering, he added, with the treatments ranging from $300 to as high as $50,000.
“One case of tuberculosis is tough on the economy,” Brostrom said.
