Santa Clara Co. Health Officials Urge Public To Test For TB

SAN JOSE, CA -- Despite a drop in new cases last year compared to 2017, Santa Clara County health officials still advocate testing and treatment of latent tuberculosis infections.

This week marks World TB Day - with the theme: "It's Time."

New cases in 2018 number 169, down from the 186 reported the prior year - among the 160,000 people infected in the county. Latent TB infection amounts to a person having the germ that causes the disease. Think the difference between HIV and AIDS, which stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.

Santa Clara County's Assistant Health Officer and TB Controller Dr. Tara Perti warns the public about the dangers of complacency and that "it's possible for anyone to get it." The public viewed AIDS and HIV the same way when the number of people dying from it dropped.

"They think TB has gone away, and it's still quite prevalent," Perti told Patch, as one the diseases primary myths.

The state Department of Public Health has announced 2,091 new cases of tuberculosis disease identified in 2018, an increase compared to the 2,059 cases reported in 2017. TB is one of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases and is one of the top ten causes of death globally, causing more deaths each year than HIV/AIDS.

TB is preventable by treating latent TB infection. Most individuals with the infection have not been diagnosed and treated; have no symptoms; and are not contagious. Without treatment, they are at risk at becoming sick with the disease in the future.

Symptoms of TB disease may include coughing for more than two weeks, coughing up blood, shortness of breath, fever, night sweats and weight loss. When a person with TB disease coughs, people who share that same air can become infected as well.

People born outside of the United States continue to experience higher TB rates compared to their U.S.-born counterparts, with the highest rates in the county found among residents born in the Philippines, Vietnam, India, and China. Others at high risk for TB include those who have traveled to or lived in a country with an elevated TB rate, have weakened immune systems or have come in close contact to someone with infectious TB.

Anyone with a risk factor for TB or are unsure is asked to contact a health care provider about testing and treatment.

More information about TB in the county can be found at www.sccphd.org/TBinfo.