Various groups and local government units in Tacloban joined the World Tuberculosis (TB) day celebration Tuesday.

After a motorcade around the city, a forum was held featuring lectures about the TB disease.

Dr. Antoniteto Evangelista, Chairman of the Alliance Against Tuberculosis encouraged the public to consult with a doctor and get medication since, he said, TB is curable.

"They don't have to be ashamed, they should see a doctor to be treated immediately and prevent from transmission of the disease to other people," said Evangelista.

Tacloban City Coalition Against Tuberculosis (TACICAT) meanwhile said it is planning to launch programs to help prevent TB infections among communities in the area. These include setting up of health centers in various remote barangays so that people need not go to clinics or hospitals in the city.

According to statistics from the Department of Health (DOH), TB respiratory illness was consistently the 6th leading cause of death in the Philippines from 2000 to 2004, next to diseases such as hypertension, diarrhea, bronchitis and influenza.

World Health Organization, in its Web site, said World Tuberculosis Day, held annually on March 24, commemorates the date in 1882 when Dr Robert Koch presented his discovery of the TB bacillus to a group of doctors in Berlin. WHO said the 2009 World TB Day focuses on the efforts of frontline TB care providers and their crucial role in stopping TB.