coughing up blood, fatigue, weight loss, fever, and etc. If left untreated, it can be fatal (CDC, 2015b).
There are two stages of tuberculosis: Latent TB infection and TB disease. Latent TB infection is when the bacteria lives inside the body, and the host is asymptomatic. This is due to the immune system suppressing the bacteria from growing. In the event that the immune system fails to suppress the bacteria, the bacteria becomes active and multiplies, leading to TB disease. When a person has TB disease, they can spread the bacteria through the air. TB’s main methods of transmission are coughing, sneezing, speaking, or singing. A person’s risk for TB is higher if they have comorbid conditions that makes it harder to fight off bacteria such …show more content…
Prolonged exposure to a person with untreated tuberculosis will result in infection, and people with TB disease are highly contagious until they have been on appropriate treatment for a period of time. If an individual has HIV, that are also at high risk for rapid progression of TB once they are infected and will most likely die during treatment (San Francisco Health Initiative, 2015). In the state of California, there is an estimated two million foreign-born individuals who have latent TB infection, and are at high risk for it developing into TB disease in the future. TB transmission is also occurring in California, and there were at least three confirmed outbreaks, as well as nine previously identified outbreaks that require ongoing public health response. During 2008 to 2012, 1085 people died with TB, and more than twenty percent of these cases died before receiving treatment (CDPH, …show more content…
In previous years, the rate of TB was decreasing at roughly 13.6 cases a year until 2012. In 2013, there were a reported 107 cases, or a 12.9 incidence rate. In 2014, there has been roughly seven new cases, bring the reported cases up to 114 cases, or a 13.6 incidence rate. There has fortunately been no major outbreaks, either, and indicators of severe disease has remained unchanged (CDPH, 2014). In 2014, it was reported that ninety percent of TB cases were among foreign-born individuals, and that Chinese-Americans comprised forty-four percent of the cases in San Francisco. Filipino-Americans made up seventeen percent of the cases, and Vietnamese-Americans made up three percent of cases. This is due to the fact that people who have lived and travel to countries with high TB rates are at a higher risk for being exposed to the bacteria. In San Francisco, residents who live in Chinatown face overcrowded housing, which leads to the bacteria being spread easier. Federal funding, as well, to support local TB programs has been reduced, and the city’s capacity to execute public health functions has decreased as a result (SFDPH, 2012; SFDPH, 2014). The TB prevalence has become a problem that the nation has considered it to be an objective in the Healthy People 2020 initiative to reduce tuberculosis incidence rates across the country to 1.0 case per 100,000 population (SFHIP,
There are two stages of tuberculosis: Latent TB infection and TB disease. Latent TB infection is when the bacteria lives inside the body, and the host is asymptomatic. This is due to the immune system suppressing the bacteria from growing. In the event that the immune system fails to suppress the bacteria, the bacteria becomes active and multiplies, leading to TB disease. When a person has TB disease, they can spread the bacteria through the air. TB’s main methods of transmission are coughing, sneezing, speaking, or singing. A person’s risk for TB is higher if they have comorbid conditions that makes it harder to fight off bacteria such …show more content…
Prolonged exposure to a person with untreated tuberculosis will result in infection, and people with TB disease are highly contagious until they have been on appropriate treatment for a period of time. If an individual has HIV, that are also at high risk for rapid progression of TB once they are infected and will most likely die during treatment (San Francisco Health Initiative, 2015). In the state of California, there is an estimated two million foreign-born individuals who have latent TB infection, and are at high risk for it developing into TB disease in the future. TB transmission is also occurring in California, and there were at least three confirmed outbreaks, as well as nine previously identified outbreaks that require ongoing public health response. During 2008 to 2012, 1085 people died with TB, and more than twenty percent of these cases died before receiving treatment (CDPH, …show more content…
In previous years, the rate of TB was decreasing at roughly 13.6 cases a year until 2012. In 2013, there were a reported 107 cases, or a 12.9 incidence rate. In 2014, there has been roughly seven new cases, bring the reported cases up to 114 cases, or a 13.6 incidence rate. There has fortunately been no major outbreaks, either, and indicators of severe disease has remained unchanged (CDPH, 2014). In 2014, it was reported that ninety percent of TB cases were among foreign-born individuals, and that Chinese-Americans comprised forty-four percent of the cases in San Francisco. Filipino-Americans made up seventeen percent of the cases, and Vietnamese-Americans made up three percent of cases. This is due to the fact that people who have lived and travel to countries with high TB rates are at a higher risk for being exposed to the bacteria. In San Francisco, residents who live in Chinatown face overcrowded housing, which leads to the bacteria being spread easier. Federal funding, as well, to support local TB programs has been reduced, and the city’s capacity to execute public health functions has decreased as a result (SFDPH, 2012; SFDPH, 2014). The TB prevalence has become a problem that the nation has considered it to be an objective in the Healthy People 2020 initiative to reduce tuberculosis incidence rates across the country to 1.0 case per 100,000 population (SFHIP,