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“It’s hard to imagine that once one gets exposed to a disease, it ever totally disappears.”

—

I was exposed to TB in 1937.

I never got the disease but still test positive with the TB tine test.

Astonishing to me.

I was exposed to TB in 1937.
I never got the disease but still test positive with the TB tine test.

Astonishing to me.

In East Africa, they vaccinate against TB. This "BCG" shot causes recipients thereafter to test "Positive" for TB since the attenuated bacillus causes to body to develop antibodies against TB.

When I was admitted to grad school in the microbiology department, the department head insisted on tests for TB and coccidiomycoses (Valley Fever). The prof lost a lung to Valley Fever and wanted to help others avoid the same fate. I complied expecting nothing. The TB test faded away at it always had in the past. The Valley Fever test nearly wrapped around my arms. Oops. Off for a lung X-ray. Bingo. Amorphous calcium blobs around the walled off infection. Not an active infection as long as I stay in good health and watch my calcium levels for life. I became infected the way most teenage kids in Southern California get infected. I was an avid dirt biker. Lots of dust. That's where it is found.

While in grad school, another test was performed. A drop of my blood was mixed with an orange carrier fluid containing very fine teflon balls. The basis of the test is that antigens and antibodies in the plasma will coat the teflon balls. If you have antibodies against your own antigens, the balls will clump. Most of my fellow students conducted the test and had no clumps after rocking the slide for 10 minutes. Mine was different. Three rocks and the blob coagulated hard against the slide. A positive. The most common observation is this shows rheumatoid arthritis in coming in the future. I was 21 then, 59 now. Bingo. Rheumatoid arthritis.

Take both tests together and I have one disease (RA) best treated with immuno suppression. The other disease (Valley Fever) relies on a good immune system to keep at bay. I keep the RA at bay with antioxidants, ibuprofen and turmeric. It's slowly chewing on me. The hot immune system keeps me very healthy otherwise.