Last October, about 200 students and staff in Falcon School District 49 underwent tuberculosis skin testing after possible exposure to an infected teacher.The results were better than expected, according to the El Paso County Department of Health and Environment. “Only six people tested positive and only for latent TB,” said Rosemary Bakes-Martin, EPCDHE public administrator.Latent TB occurs when people are infected by the mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria, but they are not sick and cannot spread the infection to others, she said. Most people who have latent TB will never develop the infection and treatment is usually not recommended. However, people with weakened immune systems related to other medical issues, along with the elderly and infants and children under 4 years old, are at risk of developing active TB and should be treated, Bakes-Martin said.According to the Center for Disease Control, the most common form of active TB is pulmonary TB, which occurs in the lungs. Symptoms may include a cough that produces blood, pain in the chest, weakness, appetite loss, chills, fever and night sweats. Active TB is spread to other people when they come in contact with an infected person who is coughing and sneezing.The TB germ can remain airborne for several hours, especially indoors where it can be circulated through ventilation. The CDC states that most people exposed to the TB germ do not become infected.TB in Colorado and El Paso CountyIn 2005, there were 14,097 cases of active TB in the United States, 101 in Colorado and nine active TB cases in El Paso County, Bakes-Martin said. Most of the Colorado cases were in the Denver metro area.People in El Paso County are low risk for contracting active TB unless they have other high risk factors, such as HIV. Those who travel to places where TB is common – Latin America, Caribbean, Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Russia – may have a higher risk factor. And U.S. employees of homeless shelters, prisons, migrant farms and nursing homes have heightened risk issues. Injecting illegal drugs increases the risk as well.”The most important thing to know is that active TB is curable,” Bakes-Martin said.The treatment involves taking several medications over an extended period of time. The most common medications include Isoniazid, Rifampin, Ethambutol and Pyrazinamide. Because the drugs must be taken for six to nine months, the EPCDHE participates in “directly observed therapy: “nurses visit the patient at home several times a week to verify the medicine is taken as directed. “TB testing and medications are provided free of charge through EPCDHE,” Bakes-Martin said.For persons who think they may have been exposed to TB, it’s imperative to have a skin test completed at their family doctor or the TB clinic at EPCDHE. Providers ask that clients return within 48 to 72 hours to determine if there is a skin reaction. People who have a positive skin test may need further testing, including a chest x-ray.Because TB is a communicable disease, the EPCDHE is notified and must follow up with the patient. They also notify all the people who have had contact with the patient and encourage them to be tested as well.For more information about tuberculosis, contact the El Paso County Department of Health and Environment at 578-3199, or visit www.elpasocountyhealth.org.
