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Right now, the United States is dealing with a measles outbreak in Texas and the rise of dysentery cases in Oregon (where my Oregon Trail kids at?). Health officials are also trying to contain a bird flu outbreak and keep it from spreading to humans. They’ve got a full plate and a ruling party that is laser-focused on trying to either kill or bankrupt us all. Well, apparently tuberculosis (street name: consumption) didn’t want to be left out of the party. The disease, which you may remember killed Nicole Kidman’s character in Moulin Rouge and Fantine in Les Misérables, is now surging worldwide. A large part of its spread is due to the cuts to USAID, which helped treat and vaccinate against it in high-risk countries. These are scary times, so Parade did a good feature that addresses various questions and what you need to know about TB.
What Is Tuberculosis?
Tuberculosis (TB) is a bacterial infection that typically affects your lungs, but can also mess with your brain, kidneys or spine. Many people have what’s called latent tuberculosis, in which you’ve been infected with the bacteria but are asymptomatic because the infection is dormant in your body. According to Cleveland Clinic, as many as 13 million Americans have latent TB. If you have a latent TB and your immune system becomes weakened (like through long COVID, for example), your latent TB may become active, leading you to experience symptoms.What Are Tuberculosis Symptoms?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the most common symptom of an active pulmonary (lung) tuberculosis infection is a bad cough. Active TB infections can include the following symptoms as well:Chest pain
Chills
Cough lasting more than three weeks
Coughing up blood
Coughing up mucus
Fatigue
Fever
Loss of appetite
Night sweats
Weakness
Weight loss (hence the “consumption” nickname)Certain types of tuberculosis can also lead to more severe illnesses, including:
Addison’s disease, a chronic adrenal gland condition that’s treatable with medication
Hepatitis, inflammation of the liver
Meningitis, inflammation of the living around your brain and spinal cord, which can be deadly
Pott’s disease, also called spinal tuberculosis, which can cause your spine to curve
Scrofula, an infection of the lymph nodes in your neckHow Does Tuberculosis Spread?
Tuberculosis is a respiratory infection that spreads when an infected individual coughs, laughs, sings, sneezes or speaks. The good news is that the majority of people who inhale tuberculosis bacteria have immune systems strong enough to fight it, so they’ll never show symptoms or have an active TB infection. The bad news is that not everyone has a great immune system. Whether you have an autoimmune condition, compromised immunity from an illness or chemotherapy or are simply a baby or young child that hasn’t developed immunity to certain illnesses yet, you may be at higher risk of an active TB infection.Is Tuberculosis Curable?
Thankfully, tuberculosis is largely curable with proper treatment. It typically requires about four to nine months of medications, including several antibiotics, to cure, per the CDC—but as we all know, access to healthcare, let alone being able to afford it, isn’t easy for everyone. That said, once treatment starts, patients usually start to feel a bit better after around three weeks or so. Actually getting treatment is key: The World Health Organization (WHO) says that for two-thirds of TB patients who don’t get appropriate treatment, tuberculosis can be fatal. If someone starts treatment and doesn’t complete it, they may develop and spread drug-resistant tuberculosis, NBC News reports, which is, you know, very scary.How Can I Prevent Tuberculosis?
Some areas of the world have common tuberculosis vaccines. If you can’t access one or they aren’t offered where you live, frequent handwashing, covering your mouth when you cough or sneeze, masking and avoiding close contact with others can keep you and others safe. Essentially, using similar methods that you would to prevent COVID-19 can prevent TB.Is There a Tuberculosis Outbreak Right Now?
Tuberculosis rates have been rising worldwide, including in Kansas, which has seen upticks in active TB infections since January 2024, NBC News reports.“What happens when we travel overseas? I’ve known servicemen and -women who come back with multidrug-resistant TB after a tour of duty,” Dr. Kenneth Castro, a professor of global health at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health, told NBC News. “I’ve known of bankers, people from Silicon Valley who work overseas, come back with the disease. The problem with all these infectious diseases is that they know no borders, and neither should our efforts stop at the border.”
Measles. Dysentery. Tuberculosis. What’s next? Polio? Leprosy? Cholera? What makes this so infuriating is that this is all completely preventable. People will die and their deaths will have been preventable. I know the MAGAs and anti vaxxers will all dismiss TB as “treatable” and wave it off until it affects them, but four-to-nine months of treatment doesn’t sound like something to make light of to me. I do not understand the mindset of being okay with putting people through unnecessary pain and hardship when a solution is right there. There is also absolutely the roadblock of cost of treatment as well as seeking treatment itself. Conditions are ripe for these diseases to make a comeback and they are attempting to do just that. Stay safe out there, everyone. I have a feeling that something’s gonna give soon, but I just don’t quite know what that will be.