Tuberculosis in Jefferson County Alabama

Tuberculosis (TB)

 Tuberculosis is caused by the bacterium, Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It is spread through the air by a person with an active case of TB located in the lungs when coughing, sneezing or speaking. While TB commonly involves the lungs, TB can develop in other organs including the kidneys, brain, spine, and bone. Not all individuals infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis will develop an active case of the disease. TB skin and blood testing only indicates if an individual is infected with the organism that causes the disease; the diagnosis of active or latent TB requires additional testing including chest x-rays and sputum cultures. The risk of exposure to TB is increased in high population density settings such as prisons, homeless shelters, and hospitals. Latent TB Infection
In

Individuals with

In 2010, the national rate of tuberculosis (TB) was 3.6 cases per 100,000 population, representing a 3.9% decline in the rate from 2009.

(LTBI) occurs when an individual becomes infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, but the immune system is able to contain the bacteria, and the person never develops signs or symptoms of the disease. In this situation, the bacteria are not growing, and the individual with Latent TB cannot transmit the disease to another person. The disease may lie dormant of years, or even a life time, in an individual with Latent TB. TB Disease, the immune system is compromised, and the bacteria begin to grow. If the growth is occurring in the lungs, the individual is capable of transmitting the disease. Individuals with a compromised immune system, such as HIV and transplant patients, are at increased risk for developing the active disease. Active TB generally develop a cough accompanied by chest pain lasting at least three weeks. The coughing may produce blood or sputum in which Mycobacterium tuberculosis can be found. The individual may also experience loss of appetite, weight loss, weakness or fatigue, fever, chills, and/or night sweats. These individuals need to undergo a six to twelve month course of treatment. Failure to comply and complete the course of treatment increases the risk that the TB bacteria develop resistance to the drugs of choice and that the disease remains active. 4 Tuberculosis rates in Jefferson County have also declined, as illustrated in Figure 4.1. Twenty-nine cases of tuberculosis were diagnosed in Jefferson County in 2010, resulting in a rate of 4.4 cases per 100,000 population. During 2010, only 3 of the diagnosed cases were among the homeless, a decrease to 10.3% of all cases from 16.2% (6 cases) in 2009. While the increase in multi-drug resistant (MDR) tuberculosis has been of increasing concern at the national level, there have been no cases of MDR tuberculosis reported in Jefferson County since 2006.

4 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Trends in Tuberculosis --- United States, 20109; MMWR 60(11);333-337 (

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6011a2.htm?s_cid=mm6011a2_e%0d%0a )