TB is contagious,but not “highly contagious” as the article says.
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True. I used to work in a nursing home that was once a regional TB hospital back in the epidemic days. It was a 5 story building the top floor was the treatment rooms we used as storage. The 4th floor had active TB patients most were geriatrics. Maybe a dozen patients from the East Tennessee area. I had worked there several days before being told it was an active floor. But I was not in direct contact with patients as I worked maintenance. That was back in the mid 1980's. We'd get yearly test and all new employees had to be tested.
Really I think it would be a good idea to go back to something that worked which was Health Cards for food handlers and health care workers. It usually involved a skin test and X-Ray for TB and testing for STD's.
How would you define “highly” contagious?
If not “highly” contagious, how about “very” contagious if you are living or working with someone who has active TB and does not know it or has not had proper treatment.That is the problem with all of our new “residents” ~ they often have not had proper treatment.
I have had quite a bit of experience with TB, and if someone coughs into their hand and then places their hand on a door knob or handle, it can be transmitted...
Two of my three kids tested positive on the skin tests...
With the one who tested positive that showed something on their x-ray, we went to an infectious disease specialist—top guy in the area...Even tho they were asymptomatic, we had to do this from a public health standpoint...admittance to school, etc. go to the specialist or the county health dept.
Kid had to be escorted up the back stairs to separate waiting room wearing a mask, etc. They treated it as very contagious...We still don’t know the source of the exposure as they had never traveled abroad to countries like India or Mexico where it is prevalent and there were not huge numbers of immigrants where we lived, tho some. Chest x-ray indicated they had had an something at one time, but got over it. At the time we were told they could have been exposed to it off a mall escalator, etc...At the time I did recall that they had had some wicked coughs. They had to go thru the 9 month treatment.
So someone who is a recent resident or recently went back “home” working in a school could easily transmit TB to a lot of people. Or could be someone like my kid who picked it up...
Takeaways:
I am not sure the medical community knows everything there is to know about TB as to how it is transmitted. Why? I have 3 kids and 2 tested positive on skin tests (oldest and youngest), oldest kid’s x-ray showed something, youngest did not. Middle child had no reaction on skin test. I, too, tested positive (had for years before)—tho latent as my x-rays are clear...not sure but years ago, docs thought I might have had exposure from grandmother who took care of me as a baby for a couple months. However, she would have been latent...as am I and docs today did not think I passed it to my kids. They say cannot be transmitted by latent carriers....Interesting stuff..
I hope TB is not becoming somewhat politicized by organizations like CDC and WHO—you know we need to be empathetic to the plight of HIV victims and refugees, Last thing we need is a move to lessen the fear of TB—especially since it poses more danger now than ever due to the drug resistant strains.
It may not be PC, but refugees and illegals are prime carriers :(
My father contracted TB when I was in my teens, spent 6 months in a sanitarium, and lived another 40 years or so. I never contracted the disease, nor did my mom, my brother, or anyone my dad worked with. As far as I know, they never found out where he got it from.