Posted on 05/30/2007 3:49:49 PM PDT by TornadoAlley3
His wife will have to be retested in a few weeks...the jury is still out.
I think she'll need another test in a couple of months or so to confirm that, though. Ditto for the passengers and crew.
if you wish to believe that one must “inhale” it, go right ahead. There are many ways for any organism to reach your respiratory tract/lungs.....they are discussed widely every fall as the “cold season” approaches.
You CAN inhale it and come down with an active case of TB.....that much is true......but it’s not much of the whole truth.
What are the odds that this jerk is a registered DemocRAT?
Not really. In the early 20th century (and probably before that), New Orleans was a TB nightmare. You could actually get it by walking barefooted through a place where someone with TB had spit—yeah, I know, who walks in New Orleans barefooted, but some did—and this was one of the reasons (or so I was told) that laws were passed about spitting on the street.
I’m not in the medical profession, so perhaps someone can correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think these are technically bacteria—I think they called them “spores” and all they needed to grow was (like mold) warmth and moisture.
Personally, if I had been on one of those planes with all the recycled air and all, I’d get a test no matter what row I was in.
Huh. I thought our health system stunk and Europe'socialist health system was the pinnacle of perfection.
Our health system is the best in the world — particularly for exotic things — but only if you can afford it.
Don't shoot the messenger, pard. That's what all the docs are saying. They've got MDs and I don't :)
More on the patient, who's a lawyer, from this link
Last I knew over 90% of my county's budget was going to Medicaid. Trust me, lots of folks can afford it.
Extensively Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis (XDR TB) Posted: April 2007
From the link:
TB is not spread by shaking someone’s hand sharing food or drink touching bed linens or toilet seats sharing toothbrushes kissing smoking or sharing cigarettes
The best healthcare services aren’t paid by insurance, they’re paid “out of pocket.” More and more people (who can afford it) are either giving up on insurance or taking as little as possible.
For the typical doctor, hospital etc. it’s about the same in Europe as most parts of the U.S.
Not to mention the fact that you get sometimes get a discount if you pay in cash. I think that's a great idea for run of the mill complaints. Save insurance for the big stuff.
No, I’m talking about boutique or concierge medicine, which is one of the fastest growing fields. The doctors in this field don’t accept insurance, limit the number of patients in their practice and make house/office calls.
you can get it by “inhaling” it, for sure....I haven’t said that’s not true, in case you didn’t notice.
But that ain’t the half of it!
Any (repeat any) way this organism can reach a respiratory tract is transmission.
If one were to step into TB-laden spit and unknowingly transfer it to the mouth and respiratory tract....BINGO....transmission!
Many asian countries have laws about spitting....TB is the reason.
The organism does not care one whit how it gets from one respiratory tract/set of lungs to the next.
Cold and honest fact is that this organism does it the same ways that others do......
The germ is very small and can float distances thru the air. That’s why active cases are isolated in negative pressure rooms. A surgical mask won’t protect you. I’m not an expert but I would think everyone on the plane was exposed.
scenario at hand
Pt with extreme-drug-resistant TB - in his lungs, trachea, mouth, nose, on his fingers, etc etc....long airline trip - talking, breathing, clearing throat, coughing (hopefully covering his mouth with hands - up to restroom, with organism on hands/fingers, uses latch on door - whoops! tourist B comes along, maybe chit-chats with him at close quarters near door to restroom.....then uses both inner and outer doorlatches after the patient.....returns to his seat (maybe 15 rows from the patients seat), deposits it onto the armrest he/she shares with person in next seat.....
CDC and politicals are downplaying this.....they will tell you that it is “inhaled”....true enough....but far from the whole truth.....this guy should have been quarantined when they found him in Italy.....his trail of possible and even likely exposure will ultimately be of interest to people in 4 countries besides the US and those on the same airliners. Granted, the contagion of this case is no greater or less than any other TB or respiratory disease.....but they call this strain “Extremely Drug Resistant TB” for a very good reason.....its resistance to TB drugs.....dramatically increases its morbidity and mortality.
Most people get TB by respiratory transmission though.
I neither agree or disagree.....and it is probably impossible to prove, because any experiments to prove or disprove modes of transmission would be unethical.
I DO surely believe that it is transmitted by small droplets of spittle containing the organism.....common sense wrt all respiratory diseases is self-explanatory. (despite claims to the contrary).
I would LOVE to see the folks at CDC who claim mosquitos don’t vector AIDS spend a few nights in a mosquito rich environment with a bunch of known HIV + people.......think they would? Not a chance! So much for their integrity.
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