State to celebrate reopening of TB clinic
By Robbie Dingeman
Advertiser Health Writer
The state Health Department today will celebrate the reopening of its tuberculosis clinic at Lanakila Health Center after $2 million in renovations.
Dr. Jessie Wing, chief of the Hawai'i state tuberculosis control program, said the improvements make the Honolulu clinic "a model" for testing and treatment and one of the best in the nation. She said the changes include a state-of-the-art digital X-ray imaging system.
State officials remain concerned about the respiratory illness because Hawai'i has the second-highest annual TB case rate in the United States, Wing said. She said last year there were 148 cases reported.
That works out to a rate of 11.9 cases of TB per 100,000 people, while the national rate is 5.2 cases per 100,000. Tuberculosis is an airborne disease caused by bacteria, which usually infects the lungs. People can be infected when someone with the disease coughs or sneezes, Wing said.
Wing said the cutting-edge diagnostic tools make the clinic safer for patients and staff and will have a digital system that will replace X-rays.
U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawai'i), who will speak at today's ceremonies, said it's important to focus on ways to fight the disease. "TB is sometimes thought of as a disease that's been conquered by modern medicine, but it's on the rise worldwide," Abercrombie said.
Wing said the clinic also was designed with a negative air flow system that keeps the air cleaner and reduces the risk of transmission of a disease. "It's ideal for an infectious disease clinic," Wing said.
She said the disease remains a concern in Hawai'i because of the large number of residents who move from other countries, as well as the state's location as a hub of the Asia-Pacific region with travelers from places where the disease is more common.
Wing said that 84 percent of the Hawai'i TB cases turn up in people born in foreign countries, mostly from Southeast Asia. She said a growing worry is an 80 percent increase in the number of cases of drug-resistant TB from 2001 to 2002.
The state has had a TB program since 1910, Wing said, and has been offering free skin tests, X-rays, evaluation and medication for decades.
As part of today's festivities, the Bishop Museum is presenting an exhibit of historic photos of the disease's history in the Islands. The grand opening begins at 9:30 a.m.
The clinic closed in February 2002 for the renovations and reopened in May. The National Institutes for Health reports that TB is responsible for 5 percent of all deaths worldwide, with 54 million people becoming infected annually and 2.4 million dying.
Assistant Surgeon General Dr. Kenneth Castro will speak at a physician symposium tonight at the center.
Reach Robbie Dingeman at rdingeman@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2429.
