Health Updates Webinar #276 “May TB Kaya Ako, Kahit Wala Akong Ubo?” The Use of AI for TB Mass Screening

The University of the Philippines,
in partnership with the UP Manila – National Institutes of Health,
and in cooperation with UP Philippine General Hospital and UP College of Medicine,
would like to invite you to attend this webinar!

Registration slots are limited to this HEALTH UPDATES webinar
So sign up NOW:
bit.ly/HealthUpdatesWebinar276

Webinar #276
March 6, 2026 (Friday), 12:00 noon
May TB Kaya Ako Kahit Wala Akong Ubo?
The Use of AI for TB Mass Screening

Presenter:
DR. PAULYN JEAN B. ROSELL-UBIAL
Executive Director, Philippine Tuberculosis Society Inc.
Secretary, Department of Health (2016-2017)

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Webinar #276
March 6, 2026 (Friday), 12:00 noon
May TB Kaya Ako Kahit Wala Akong Ubo?
The Use of AI for TB Mass Screening

The persistence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis remains one of the most significant challenges to global public health, particularly in high-burden settings where the clinical presentation of the disease often defies traditional diagnostic expectations. While a chronic, productive cough has long been established as the hallmark symptom of pulmonary tuberculosis, a growing body of evidence suggests that a substantial proportion of infectious cases are subclinical or asymptomatic at the time of screening. This diagnostic gap, which includes the phenomenon of “TB without a cough”, necessitates a paradigm shift in our approach to active case finding.

In this week’s episode, we will provide a comprehensive deep dive into the pathophysiology of subclinical tuberculosis and the inherent limitations of symptom-based screening protocols. As frontline defenders of community health, it is imperative to understand how subclinical infections can contribute to ongoing community transmission despite the absence of overt respiratory distress. The core of our discussion will center on technological advancements that offer a scalable, highly sensitive, and objective method for identifying subtle abnormalities that may be overlooked by the human eye, particularly in high-throughput mass screening environments where radiologist availability is often a bottleneck. We will discuss how AI algorithms are trained to recognize patterns associated with early-stage TB, effectively serving as a force multiplier for diagnostic accuracy. We will explore the nuances of screening sensitivity versus specificity and how these digital tools can be seamlessly integrated into existing primary care workflows to ensure that no patient is left undiagnosed. Our main discussant is Dr. Paulyn Jean B. Rosell-Ubial, who is the Executive Director of the Philippine Tuberculosis Society Inc. and previously served as DOH Secretary from 2016-2017.

Join us and gain knowledge on how to implement more rigorous screening strategies, which ultimately contribute to the global goal of ending the TB epidemic through early detection and rapid intervention.