Tuberculosis program manager: TB continues to be #1 killer

Free TB skin tests will be available to students who attend classes at John F. Kennedy High School in less than two weeks.  The tests are being done following a positive case involving a member of the Simon Sanchez High School community.  Sanchez is currently in double-session at the Upper Tumon school.  It's the second positive TB case at a public school in recent weeks, but Public Health doesn't want the community to worry. 

LTH Organization's Global Tuberculosis Report in 2024 highlights that tuberculosis has resurged as the top infectious disease killer, surpassing COVID-19. Local health experts are aware. 

Chima Mbakwem, the island’s TB Program Manager at the Guam Department of Public Health and Social Services, explained why, saying, “But when COVID-19 started, COVID took over as the number one killer. But now that the pandemic is over, TB has continued to be the number one killer because of the fact that it is an  airborne infection, and people get easily infected in places where there’s a lot of TB going on.”

So what does this impact look like on Guam?

Mbakwem says Guam is rated as a medium-incidence area in the us for TB, with cases ranging from 50-150 on average in a single year. “But since 2018, when we had almost 70-something cases in a year, and coming down to the COVID era when cases dropped to 45 and between 50–but now we’re seeing a slight increase in cases across the world," he added.

As KUAM previously reported, two cases of active TB were identified at two public schools this year - Tiyan High and Simon Sanchez High.  The CDC says individuals with latent tb do not feel sick, exhibit symptoms, or spread the bacteria. However, if the germs become active, they can develop tb disease, which is contagious.

Students at Sanchez, who are attending double-session at JFK High School, sounded-off expressing fear following the positive case.  The situation only begging the question - should we be worried about a potential TB outbreak? 

“The community should not be worried because we’ve identified these cases, we’ve gone through all the public health processes–and we’re handling it to the best of our ability. And we are confident that if there’s any transmission, that we’ll be able to stop the transmission," Mbakwem said.

For more information on the disease, visit cdc.gov/tb.