[kev]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (abbreviated as TB for Tubercle Bacillus) is a common and deadly infectious disease caused by the mycobacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis or Mycobacterium bovis. Tuberculosis most commonly affects the lungs (as pulmonary TB) but can also affect the central nervous system, the lymphatic system, the circulatory system, the genitourinary system, bones, joints and even the skin.

There is a common thought that TB is only in third world countries, this is FAR from the truth. The fact is, TB is alive and well here in the USA. Special care should be taken around people that show a chronic cough. Protect yourselves and your families health.

 

[Graywolf]

Another Pandemic Possibility - Tuberculosis

Here is an interesting article on TB, and even more interested is the way the man in the article has been subjected to "court-ordered isolation in Phoenix".
Gives you a clue how they would handle a pandemic flu outbreak as well!
You can read the article at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/02/AR2007050202831.html?hpid=topnews

Virulent New Strain of TB Raising Fears of Pandemic
Bug Is Resistant to Most Available Drugs

By Peter Finn
Washington Post Foreign Service
Thursday, May 3, 2007; Page A01

MOSCOW -- A virulent strain of tuberculosis resistant to most available drugs is surfacing around the globe, raising fears of a pandemic that could devastate efforts to contain TB and prove deadly to people with immune-deficiency diseases such as HIV-AIDS.

Known formally as extensively drug-resistant TB, or XDR-TB, the strain has been detected in 37 countries. It arises when the bacterium that causes TB mutates because antibiotics used to combat it are carelessly administered by poorly trained doctors or patients don't take their full course of medication. Rather than being killed by the drugs, the microbe builds up resistance to them................

Just keeps getting better and better, huh?
Graywolf

 

[Ammo]

Can they go back to some of the older drugs, that haven't been used, for awhile?
I seem to remember reading something about doing this, pertaining to something else.

 

[Cat Naps]

The TB bacillus has mutated to be resistant to the older drugs so they will not work. It mutated because people would not follow their medication regimen all the way to the end to eradicate it in their bodies so it has over time become resistant. Many municipal and county health departments across the country have workers who actually "police" patients - they go to their homes or place of employment daily to watch them take their meds - otherwise the TB strain will become even more resistant than they are now.

This is a very real problem!

Incidentally, after 3 days of treatment the TB is no longer contagious as long as the affected person stays on their meds.

 

[Graywolf]

Interesting Article Found

I found this at:
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=dae95bd3-caf6-4ebf-980e-960ad036f3a9&k=78895

Extensively drug resistant tuberculosis like bird flu 'running in molasses' Helen Branswell, Canadian Press
Published: Tuesday, May 22, 2007

TORONTO (CP) - Extensively drug resistant tuberculosis - a strain of the TB bug that is effectively immune to the power of most antibiotics - is a looming crisis that is underappreciated by much of the world, experts at a major infectious diseases conference suggested Tuesday.

"What is known amongst the technocrats is somehow not getting out to the general public," admitted Dr. Peter Small, senior program officer for tuberculosis with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation............

Just doing my part to help you sleep more soundly!
Graywolf

 

[Graywolf]

Scary Update

Found this article at:
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=56340

Untreatable TB threat 'apocalyptic scenario'
30,000 infected annually now, but toll could become 8 million 'time bombs'
Posted: June 24, 2007 1:00 a.m. Eastern By Bob Unruh
© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com

The World Health Organization is appealing for billions of dollars in funding to avert the apocalypse en route if a virtually untreatable form of tuberculosis that already infects 30,000 people a year is left unchecked...................

 

[bogdan]

All,
In Romania, TBC is a actual disease. So, we vaccinate our people. First vaccine is made in first 2 monts of live.
I was vaccinated when i was little child. After that, at the age of 10, at the age of 18 and at the start of military service, i was tested to be immune. The surrounding people who was not immune was vaccinated again.
So, if you have the posibility to vaccinated yourself, do it. If not, at the first trip in Eastern Europe (in Eastern Europe TBC vaccine is available), do it.

My personal opinion,
Bogdan.

 

[eeyore]

Any Vaccines, please ask your physician for the "dead" form of the shot and not the "live" form of the shot. I know that several years ago they were still giving "live " polio vaccine to children. I would not let them, i made them give the "dead form" of the vaccine. If you have to get your kids vaccinated for school or travel or whatever make the doctor administer the dead form of the vaccine if possible. I personally know of one person that got polio after getting a vaccination, of the live polio.

 

[bogdan]

Eeyore,
In Romania, all the vaccines have only the "dead" form. But, sometimes, during production process, some viruses remain alive. In that cases, a risk to contact the disease you try to protect, appear.

My2cents,
Bogdan.

 

[Bitty]

A post from my blog. The article linked below made me quite angry:

Andrew Speaker, Hypocrite

Andrew Speaker, Mister TB, the guy who flew from country to country knowing he was contagious with tuberculosis, has the gaul to ask for an apology from the CDC. The story is here: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/healthnews.php?newsid=76033

It turns out the CDC misdiagnosed the disease. He has multi-drug resistant tuberculosis, not extreme drug resistant tuberculosis. Because he has a really nasty case instead of a really, really nasty case, the CDC should apologize...

Mr Speaker, how about you profusely apologize to the world for knowingly traveling around while contagious with a potentially deadly disease, then shut your pie hole? When your doctor recommends that you not travel, YOU DON'T TRAVEL. If the CDC takes the effort to track you down and call you overseas to tell you to cancel your flight, isn't that a pretty good indicator that you may pose a bit of a risk to others? You lost any and all moral high ground the moment you decided to get on that plane. If you had any shame, any remorse, you would stop giving interviews, stop whining and just get your treatment so you don't infect anyone (else?).

The next pandemic will be started by a selfish bastard like this.

 

[eeyore]

This might make you a little happier Bitty

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19734910/

$1.3 million suit against TB patient
July 13: Nine people are suing a tuberculosis patient for possibly exposing them to the disease on a trans-Atlantic flight. MSNBC's Amy Robach reports.
MSNBC
Updated: 6:41 p.m. ET July 12, 2007
MONTREAL - Nine people filed a $1.3 million lawsuit Thursday against the globe-trotting tuberculosis patient for possibly exposing them to the disease on a commercial flight from Prague to Montreal.

Montreal lawyer Anlac Nguyen filed the motion in Quebec Superior Court on behalf of seven Canadians and two natives of the Czech Republic. Eight were passengers on the flight with Andrew Speaker and the ninth is a brother and roommate of one of the passengers.

Speaker, a 31-year-old Atlanta personal injuries attorney, was in Europe when he learned tests showed he had an extremely drug-resistant strain of tuberculosis known as XDR-TB.

 

[Bitty]

I'm glad someone's doing something to punish him for it, but the underlying problem still remains. He was contagious the entire time he was traveling, so that means hotels, taxis, restaurants, bathrooms, public telephones, etc. We'll never really know how many people will ultimately get infected.

 

[eeyore]

Said thing is he will get a book or movie deal. But you are right of course he was very irresponsible, and hopefully will have to pay for it.

 

[kev]

Years ago our schools taught kids to cover their mouths when they cough, dont spit on the sidewalk and other common sense health topics.

Now, schools give our kids drugs to make them sit still.

People have forgotten what real diseases are like, they have forgotten public health issues.

If this nation ever has to face a real public health crisis we will be in bog trouble. The sheeple are to stupid to know what to do.

This TB patient is a good example of how quickly diseases can spread across the nation and or the world.

 

[badkarma]

Any Vaccines, please ask your physician for the "dead" form of the shot and not the "live" form of the shot. I know that several years ago they were still giving "live " polio vaccine to children. I would not let them, i made them give the "dead form" of the vaccine. If you have to get your kids vaccinated for school or travel or whatever make the doctor administer the dead form of the vaccine if possible. I personally know of one person that got polio after getting a vaccination, of the live polio.

The "live" vaccine is an attenuated virus. It's alive, but cannot reproduce....it's sterile.

 

[Cat Naps]

Too many people have developed an attitude of, "If I get sick, a pill will fix me."

It ain't true!