Tuberculosis Facts
IT CAN BE ELIMINATED!
Tuberculosis is an infectious disease,
spread from person to person
Tuberculosis (TB) is a disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium
tuberculosis. The bacteria can cause disease in many parts of the
body, although most TB patients have disease in their lungs. People
with this kind of TB can spread the bacteria to others when they
cough. If someone breaths in the bacteria and gets an infection,
they may progress to disease soon after infection, or many years
later. Some with TB infection never get the disease.
Tuberculosis can be treated
Tuberculosis disease
Before antibiotics were discovered, the risk of death among TB
patients was very high. TB can now be cured with antitubercular
medications. TB is no longer treated in a sanitorium! Although
patients may spend some time in the hospital, drugs can be delivered
to them in the community when they are no longer infectious to
others. It is important to treat people with TB disease early,
to prevent death and to prevent spread to others. It is also important
that TB patients finish their medications, to prevent drug resistance.
Tuberculosis infection
Treatment can also be given to people with TB infection, to prevent
progression to TB disease. This kind of treatment is usually recommended
for people at high risk for disease, such as recently infected
people, people with weakened immune systems, or young children.
Tuberculosis can be eliminated
TB bacteria live primarily in humans. By preventing transmission
from person to person, children can grow up infection-free, and
TB can be eliminated from the community. Transmission from person
to person is stopped by the following actions:
- Early TB case finding and treatment
- Rapid investigation of contacts and treatment of recently infected
people
- Treatment of infection in high-risk individuals
- Reduction of social conditions that promote TB spread, such
as overcrowded housing
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