|
The
service provides tuberculosis skin testing to clients who have been
exposed to tuberculosis to provide early detection. TB skin tests are also
provided to persons who are required by their school or occupation to have
annual TB skin tests. The cost of a TB skin test done for purposes other
than exposure to the disease is $20.00. This service is offered daily at
Cabarrus Health Alliance 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. except on
Thursday. Call 704 920-1205
for an appointment. Clients must return in 48-72 hours for reading
of the skin test. Chest X-rays are ordered for clients who have a positive
TB skin test. Medications for treatment and prevention of TB are provided
free of charge through a state funded program. Call 704
920-1205 for an appointment.
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium
Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which is spread almost exclusively by airborne
transmission. Although the disease can affect any site in the body, it
most often affects the lungs. When persons with pulmonary TB cough, they
produce tiny droplet nuclei that contain TB bacteria, which can remain
suspended in the air for prolonged periods of time. Anyone who breathes
air that contains these droplet nuclei can become infected with TB. A
person who becomes infected with the TB bacillus remains infected for
years. Usually a person with a healthy immune system does not become ill,
but is usually not able to eliminate the infection without taking an anti-tuberculosis
drug. This condition is referred to as "latent tuberculous
infection." Persons with latent tuberculous infection are
asymptomatic and cannot spread TB to others. Generally, a positive TB skin
test is the only evidence of infection. About 10-15 million persons in
this country are infected with M. tuberculosis. About 10% of otherwise
healthy persons who have latent tuberculous infection will become ill with
active TB at some time during their lives.
Our programs for controlling TB have two major arms. The first
and highest priority is to detect persons with active TB and treat them
with effective anti-tuberculosis drugs. Effective treatment keeps the
patients from dying of TB and stops the transmission of infection to other
persons in the household, at the work site, or in the community. Treatment
of active TB involves taking multiple anti-tuberculosis drugs daily (or
two or three times weekly) for at least 6 months. If the patient does not
take the medications for the full treatment period, the disease may not be
cured and may recur. If medications are not prescribed properly or taken
regularly, the TB organisms can become resistant to the drugs, and
drug-resistant TB may then be transmitted to other persons. Drug-resistant
disease is difficult and expensive to treat. Thus, the most important step
to prevent drug-resistant disease is to ensure that patients take all
their medication. Directly observed therapy is the best way of ensuring
patient compliance. The second major control intervention is to detect and
preventively treat persons who do not have active TB, but who have latent
tuberculous infection and may be at high risk of developing active TB.
With drug-susceptible TB, preventive therapy with isoniazid greatly
reduces the risk of developing active TB. Preventive therapy requires
treatment daily or twice weekly for a minimum of 6 months, and many
patients do not complete a full course of therapy without direct
observation.
:
|
