Suburban Detroit Student Diagnosed With TB

Sorry to hear this... I hope it's not the drug resistant type. Come on folks, an ounce of prevention, and all that.

mo
 
I tested positive for exposure to TB (latent TB) in 2010. I took one pill of medication everyday for 9 months to make sure I didn't develop active disease later on down the road. (the med was called Isoniazid)

The Doc explained it to me because I had to go every month to refill my meds instead of a prescription that was automatically filled at pharmacy. It is done that way to ensure patient compliance with treatment for the most part. But the med can cause issues with liver and such so they moniter you.

The doc said: That the TB bacteria enters your body through your lungs. He said that I didn't have to be around someone for any period of time in order to have been exposed. For all we know, I could have entered an elevator fairly soon after someone inside with active disease had coughed.

My body recognized it as an infectious agent and produced antibodies which is why I tested positive for latent TB. I had been exposed but did not have active disease.

The antibodies will kill off a good measure of the bacteria. However, the bacteria will encapsulate itself to fend off the attack of human immune system.

Once it does that the immune system can't kill it. Once in the lungs it can travel to any part of your body via the cardiopulmonary system (brain, nerves, bones...etc).

If not treated with antibiotic then there is a possibility later on (even decades) that the person can develop active disease. Exposure to infection and full disease rate is pretty low.

In the US there is a very low infection rate. In fact, most of our cases are from the foreign born population . But there are hotspots in the US and I lived in one before moving here. Texas (yup the state itself lol). I lived in El Paso and I now live here (HI) I could have been exposed at either place.

I always suggest to go ahead and get a TB tine now to all my friends and family. That's how I got one. I asked for it as a part of a routine checkup and they said sure. And tada I tested positive haha. I had one about 5 years prior and it was negative. (again had just asked for it) so it was TX or HI that I was exposed.

Being exposed isn't a big deal if you get tested and find out. The treatment when taken in compliance is something like upwards of high 90 percentile. I'm not worried about ever developing full on TB. I made sure I took that pill every-single-day.

Just posting that for anyone who might come looking because they or their child was exposed. It should be okay. Just take your meds. (as long as it isn't a DR strain)
 
Your going to be seeing more of this as more make illegal entry. There has been a bed bug manifestation taking place and can be credited to the same. JMO
 
Your going to be seeing more of this as more make illegal entry. There has been a bed bug manifestation taking place and can be credited to the same. JMO

Do you have a MSM to support these claims??
 
About 10 years ago, I volunteered to transport Haitian migrant workers from their homes to the county health department for a free health fair clinic. So, after 2 full days & a couple tanks of my gas, I felt like I had done a good deed.Then about 2 weeks later I got a call from the director of the health department. One of the guys I had ridden had died from TB & I needed to get tested. I knew immediately which man it was, he sat in the driver's side back seat, was sweating profusely although the air-con was cranked up full blast & he coughed & coughed.... & coughed some more...... Great! How do you like your good deed now noZme ?

Anyway, the poor fellow died, I did not catch TB, but I learned that TB & some other diseases that Americans aren't concerned about are somewhat common in migrant farm-workers. There are regulations about living quarters (which are largely ignored) & often 20 or more people are living in a small 2 or 3 bedroom, 1 bath, house.... holiday for germs.

So, many farm-workers are illegal, but heathy, legal workers, can easily get sick & transmit diseases. And anyone traveling abroad can bring unexpected "souvenirs."
 
It can also be those who have legally immigrated as well. The CDC changed their requirements on immigration and TB just in the past few years. It is quite possible to have been exposed to TB not be treated for exposure and to develop the disease decades down the road.

The only people that can spread the disease are those with active disease.

And also tourists can bring it to you. (Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, and Russia all have countries where there are high incidences of infection) because they aren't always symptomatic, and the symptoms run on a continuum and not everyone is deathly ill until the end stages of the disease. (in fact young children don't have symptoms like adults is what I was told by a friend who's child showed active disease while we were stationed in Germany about 20 years ago)

So while I agree that there is a component to the spread of the disease by illegal immigration it is also spread by legal immigrants here prior to the changes made by the CDC and also American Citizens that travel to other countries are exposed to the disease and contract it while here, people like me that are currently living in a place where there are millions of tourists from other countries, and to be honest many other scenarios.

IMHO the best offense is defense and a TB tine is a simple answer. Quick, easy and given that TB hasn't been erraticated from our Country not a bad idea to get one. All JMHO :)
 
OT but they recently found mosquitos that carry yellow fever here again (hadn't been seen in about 50 years, they are testing the DNA from the one's captured and it appears so far they came from the mainland USA~ must have hitched a ride on a plane haha) as well as dengue fever. Those scare me more than west nile haha. Yellow fever? yikes!
 
TB is endemic in all the large cities in the USA and in Europe. Medical professionals call it the White Plague. From The Lancet, the Journal of Infectious Diseases, the most significant factors known to increase the incidence of TB are:

1. Non-compliance with medication
2. Poverty---which is related to non-compliance with meds
3. Homelessness----which is related to non-compliance with meds
http://www.soph.uab.edu:9201/mediaserver/media/Sparkman/Jamaica Readings/TB in NY - Paolo et al.pdf
 

Members online

Online statistics

Members online
136
Guests online
955
Total visitors
1,091

Forum statistics

Threads
589,931
Messages
17,927,838
Members
228,004
Latest member
CarpSleuth
Back
Top