World Tuberculosis (TB) Day
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World TB Day is an annual recognized event held on March 24 to acknowledge the discovery of tuberculosis (TB), which occurred in 1882. The day is also established to educate the public about the impact of TB worldwide.
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TB is a potentially serious infectious disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis. This bacterium mainly affects the lungs but can also attack other body parts such as the kidney, spine and brain. The bacteria are spread from person to person through tiny droplets released in the air when someone coughs or sneezes (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2022).
Not everyone that is infected with TB bacteria actually becomes sick. As a result, two TB related conditions exist. Latent TB condition occurs when you are infected and do not become sick. Active TB is when the condition causes symptoms and requires many types of medications for long duration to get rid of the infection. If TB is not treated properly, it can be fatal (Mayo Clinic, 2022).
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| • | Cough (that lasts longer than 3 weeks) |
| • | Cough that produces blood or unusual sputum |
| • | Pain in chest |
| • | Weakness |
| • | Fatigue |
| • | Weight loss |
| • | No appetite |
| • | Chills |
| • | Fever |
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Risk factors for being infected with TB are broken down into two groups. The first group are persons who have been recently infected with TB bacteria. Those with greater risk are:
| • | Persons who have immigrated from areas with high rates of TB (highest risk is Third World countries) Visit CDC website to learn more about tuberculosis prevalence worldwide. |
| • | Living with or close contact with a person who has infectious TB disease. |
| • | Persons who work or reside with people who are high risk for TB infections such has hospitals, correctional facilities, nursing homes, homeless shelters and residential homes for those with HIV. |
| • | Groups with high TB transmission, such as injection drug users, homeless persons and persons with HIV infections. |
The second group of people who have increased risk are persons with medical conditions that weaken the immune system. Those include:
| • | Children and babies |
| • | Diabetes |
| • | Low body weight |
| • | Kidney disease |
| • | HIV |
| • | Substance abuse |
| • | Organ transplants |
| • | Head and neck cancer |
| • | Those with conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis or Crohn’s disease that take medications such as corticosteroids (CDC, 2022). |
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The only contagious state is active TB when it affects the lungs. General TB prevention includes things like good hygiene practices including hand washing, covering your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing and good ventilation. TB prevention also includes stopping latent TB from progressing to active disease. If you have latent TB infection and you are in a high-risk group, you should take the medication that your health care provider prescribes to keep from developing active disease.
In many countries, TB is more common than it is in the US. Some of these countries offer TB vaccinations for young children to prevent TB infection in the future. A tuberculin skin test (also called a Mantoux tuberculin test) can also be used as tool to test and prevent the spread of TB. It is done to see if you have ever been exposed to tuberculosis TB. The test is done by putting a small amount of TB protein under the top layer of skin on your inner forearm. TB test are available at the Jackson College Health Clinic for $15.
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Although considered rare in developed countries, TB infections still pose a threat. TB awareness and prevention control measures provide the guidance towards elimination of this devastating disease.
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