| You by now have heard the story of the | | | | Aids and tb seem to go hand in hand. |
| irresponsible individual with terrible resistant tb who | | | | With the aids epidemic came multi drug resistant tb. |
| traveled around the globe by jet airplane perhaps | | | | What that means is that the drugs that used to |
| infecting others. Just what is this resistant tb disease | | | | treat and eradicate the tb became less and less |
| and why is it so dangerous. | | | | effective and in many cases cannot even touch the |
| First of all this problem of spread of Tuberculosis by | | | | tb. Whether this is because of the bug changing, the |
| people who are infectious with tb is not a new | | | | fact that many of the aids patients in the us were |
| phenomenon. It has happened before. Only now it is | | | | intravenous drug users or whatever no one knows. |
| becoming more frequent and common with both the | | | | The basic problem is that although 90 % of |
| rise and spread of new hard to treat resistant forms | | | | Tuberculosis patients don't spread the disease and |
| of tb and the reemergence of tb which is associated | | | | are no problem is not the issue. It is the remaining 10 |
| with aids. | | | | % who are active carriers of the disease are. One |
| TB is a deadly disease caused by a bacterium that | | | | tenth of those infected by TB will die if left |
| the body just cannot seem to get rid of. The body | | | | untreated. And now a greater and greater |
| tries and tries to get rid of the Mycobacterium | | | | percentage of Tuberculosis can not be cured by the |
| tuberculosis. Bacteria by the immune system again | | | | old standby drugs. Tuberculosis was a difficult disease |
| and again more and more but it cannot. In the | | | | for both the doctor and patient to treat - lots of |
| process the potent chemicals of the immune system | | | | different pills that not only cured the Tuberculosis but |
| destroy parts of the body. It as if strong drain | | | | also had lot of side effects. As well it took a long |
| cleaner is being poured on your floor again and again. | | | | time period of the multi antibiotic therapy. It was not |
| Only in this case it is parts of your body - usually | | | | just a simple 10 day treatment and all was over. |
| your lungs. Any part of the body can be affected as | | | | That person who is actively spreading tb can infect |
| well as the lungs - bones, joints, circulatory system | | | | 10 to 15 other people a year. How can you prevent |
| evens the skin. | | | | the spread of TB to yourself? First of all avoidance |
| As with most diseases Tuberculosis (TB) originated | | | | of the person who has active tb. TB is generally |
| with man's involvement with the domestication of | | | | spread by the aerosol droplets sneezed or spit by |
| animals. Influenza came from our involvement with | | | | the carrier person. Secondly make sure any utensils - |
| fowl such as ducks and chickens; TB comes from | | | | plates, knives forks etc that you use are carefully |
| man's involvement with cattle. | | | | sterilized. A hot dishwasher will do that. |
| Remarkably one third (1/3) of the world's population | | | | This all brings us back to the question of the individual |
| has tuberculosis. Most of these people are no threat | | | | who involved with the 2007 Tuberculosis scare. Here |
| to anyone at all. TB has become much more | | | | was a person with known Tuberculosis who around |
| common. TB had been said not long ago to be | | | | the globe |
| "cured" and there was even great effort to close | | | | Spreading infectious Tuberculosis to countless |
| major tb major tb centers as the National Jewish | | | | innocent and unknowing people around the globe. |
| Hospital in Denver (where the world TB traveler was | | | | Was he reckless and inconsiderate of the health and |
| eventually relegated and treated). TB was rare and | | | | welfare of others? You be the judge. |
| just about unknown. Then came the aids epidemic. | | | | |