Westchester Insider: Westchester County: WESTCHESTER COUNTY CELEBRATES WOLRD TB DAY ON MARCH 24.

 

WESTCHESTER COUNTY CELEBRATES WORLD TB DAY ON MARCH 24.

 

#World TBDay.

 

(White Plains, NY) - As World TB Day is observed tomorrow, marking the day in 1882 when the bacteria that causes Tuberculosis was discovered, the Westchester County Department of Health encourages residents to ask their medical provider if Tuberculosis (TB) screening is right for them.

 

An estimated 1.7 billion people worldwide are infected with TB. In the U.S., 13 million people of all ages have latent TB. This means they do not have any TB symptoms, and cannot spread TB. However, if the disease is left untreated, they may develop active TB in the future, spread the disease and feel quite ill.

 

In 2022, cases of active TB were identified in more than 30 Westchester residents who ranged in age from 2 to 85 years old. TB also touched the lives of many who were exposed to someone with infectious TB at work, school or home, in a social setting or a healthcare facility.

 

Health Commissioner Sherlita Amler, MD, said: “Screening by a medical provider is important because this disease can touch anyone, and those who don’t know they have early disease can spread TB to people around them, even when they have no symptoms. The right treatment can stop TB.”

 

TB germs are spread through the air when a person with active TB disease coughs or sneezes. Tuberculosis disease begins with an infection without symptoms that later develops into disease in 5 to 15 percent of people. For every case of active TB, there are at least 1,500 people with latent infection. Nearly all new cases of active TB come from people with latent disease who develop symptoms and then spread infection. 

 

The best way to stop the spread of TB is to identify people with latent infection via a simple TB skin or blood test and follow-up with antibiotic treatment. Most people are unaware they are at risk to develop TB disease, and it is only through testing that they can be identified and treated. Young children, people who are pregnant or those with a weakened immune system due to cancer or HIV are at greatest risk to develop active disease. If untreated, TB can lead to permanent disability or death.

 

To protect the public, the Health Department provides care and medication with no out-of-pocket cost to people diagnosed with active TB.  Last year, 33 people were newly identified with active TB. To decrease the likelihood that TB will spread to others, the Health Department also:

 

·         works collaboratively with healthcare providers who manage the care of Westchester residents with active TB to assure the best possible treatment and outcome

·         verifies that people with active TB do not attend school, work and other places where they could spread TB until treatment makes them non-contagious

·         manages complex cases of multi-drug resistant TB

 

The Health Department evaluates and potentially treats inactive (latent) TB in:

 

·         Children 12-19 years old and adults who are candidates for a shortened treatment,

·         Children under 5 years old, who are at increased risk for developing active TB, and

·         Pregnant and post-partum women

 

Amler said: “Preventive TB treatment is much more convenient than it once was. A smartphone app and a shorter treatment regimen are helping us reduce the number of active cases of TB in Westchester. But early detection and treatment is critical to limit the complex cases that we see.”

 

For more information, call the Westchester County Department of Health at (914) 813-5000 or visit the Health Department website at www.westchestergov.com/health.