TB also known as Tuberculosis is a disease caused by bacteria called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The bacteria usually attacks the lungs, but they can also damage other parts of your body such as the kidneys, spine, and brain. It is spread through the air and people who have a lower immune system are more likely to get it. Symptoms include excessive coughing with or without blood, chest pain, difficulty breathing, weight loss, fever, and fatigue. There are two different types of TB, latent or active …show more content…
patients should have to receive treatment not only for themselves but for the sake of others as well. My stance in this debate would be different if not getting treatment for TB and psych patients didn’t affect other people. I am a strong believer in equality and everyone having the right to choose what is best for them personally, but without getting treated for both TB and a mental disorder it doesn’t just affect that person, it affects those around them. TB is highly contagious and if a person chooses not to receive treatment for it, not only does it impose a high risk of fatality on their behalf, but it continues to spread to others. Although others have the option to be treated for it, why should they have to when it is something that can be prevented? Well according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “persons with infectious TB may lose that right if health officials believe these person’s risk infecting others by not taking their prescribed medicine. Patients who are unwilling or unable to adhere to treatment may be required to do so by law or may be quarantined or isolated until noninfectious. State governments have legal responsibility for TB control activities, including treatment protocols for nonadherent patients”. I agree 100% that the only way to eliminate the threat of tuberculosis is through prevention and treatment which should be mandatory. Just like there are laws for people with TB, there are laws for