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June 7,
2007
Little Rock --
Officials at the Arkansas Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Health (DOH), have confirmed that three persons in Arkansas who were passengers on a flight with the Atlanta resident who has been diagnosed with Extensively Drug Resistant Tuberculosis are undergoing evaluation for possible TB infection. Health Division personnel are working closely with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta to complete their evaluation.
Dr. Joe Bates, Deputy State Health Officer says, “All the information to date indicates the patient, Mr. Speaker, who is hospitalized now at the National Jewish Medical Center in Denver, is minimally infectious for others. The Division of Health is currently evaluating those persons who are in Arkansas, and has recommended follow-up testing to make sure they have not been infected.”
In an unrelated occurrence, DOH has identified another patient with active tuberculosis in Columbia County at Southern Arkansas University (SAU). The patient is on appropriate treatment for TB and, in accordance with its standard TB control procedures, the Division of Health with full cooperation of the University has sent letters to individuals who might have been exposed. The letter recommends getting skin tested for tuberculosis infection.
Having a positive TB skin test does not mean that the person has active tuberculosis. It means that he or she has been infected by the inhaled TB germ. This infection is called Latent TB infection (LTBI) -MORE- DOH Page 2 June 7, 2007 and is not contagious. Only about ten per cent of people who have latent tuberculosis infection will ever develop active TB during their lifetime. However, if they are treated with medication during the period of latent infection, the risk of developing active tuberculosis can be reduced to near zero.
Dr. Iram Bakhtawar, Director of the DOH Tuberculosis Branch, states, “The SAU administration, faculty and staff have provided excellent assistance to the Division of Health in this investigation.” TB was the leading cause of death in Arkansas in the 1900’s. Identification and highly effective treatment of patients and their contacts has led to a marked reduction in the number of cases in the state. In 2006, there were only 102 new cases of TB for the entire state, which is the lowest rate since records have been available.
Questions and Answers
Why is the Division of Health Testing?
Skin testing is part of a contact investigation, a routine procedure followed by the TB program at the Division of Health. We skin test people who may have been exposed to a person with active TB and are possibly at risk of getting the infection.
What if a person is screened and has a positive skin test?
A positive skin test does not mean the person has active TB – most likely they have a latent infection (the germ is present in the body but not causing disease). In such cases, the individual is not contagious (he/she cannot spread the disease to others).
If I have a positive skin test, how will I know if I need follow-up with a chest x-ray and/or medicine?
You will be contacted by the Division of Health. Only those who have a positive skin test will need follow-up to assess whether latent or active infection exists.
What is TB?
TB is a disease that usually affects the lungs, but it can affect virtually any part of the body. It is spread through the air by people who are sick with the disease in their lungs, but not by those with only a positive skin test.
Is TB Dangerous?
Treatment with modern drugs is highly effective. Almost everyone who has proper treatment gets well. The very few who do not get well are patients who do not cooperate in taking their medicine correctly, or they are very sick with another serious illness.
How do people get infected with TB?
You get sick by spending time with a person with TB in the lungs and breathing the germ into your lungs. It ordinarily takes prolonged or repeated exposure for a person to get infected. Practically all transmission of TB takes place before the person with TB is identified as being sick. Once identified, the patient is isolated and on medicine until no longer contagious. Because of this, once the patient with TB is diagnosed, the danger of transmission is rapidly reduced.
Do people who get infected with the TB germ always get sick?
No. Only one out of ten persons who get infected and who are not given preventive treatment will ever get sick. The way to tell that a person is infected is to do a tuberculin skin test. People who are not sick and have a positive skin test have latent TB infection (the germ is in the body but not causing disease).
How long does it take after someone becomes infected to get sick with TB?
It can take a few months to many years.
Can I catch TB from someone with a positive skin test?
No. To transmit TB, a person must be sick with TB in the lungs. A person with a positive skin test has latent TB infection and cannot transmit TB.
Why do you treat people who have positive skin tests but are not sick?
We treat them so they will not develop active TB in the future. This preventive treatment has been a major factor in our success in reducing TB in the United States.
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