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Tuberculosis (TB)
Tuberculosis,commonlyknownasTB,isaninfectiousdiseasecausedbyinfectionwiththe Mycobacterium tuberculosisbacterium.TypicallyTBaffectsthelungsbutitalsocaninfectany otherorganofthebody.Itisspreadfrompersontopersonthroughtheairwhensomeonewith activeTBofthelungsorthroatcoughsorsneezes. TBdiseasewasoncetheleadingcauseofdeathinmanyWesterncountriesbuteffectivetreatment andpreventionprogramsmeanitisnowuncommoninAustralia. Not everyone with TB infection develops active TB OnlyabouttenpercentofpeopleinfectedwithTBdevelopactiveTBdiseasethatmakesthe personsickandcausessymptoms.Medicationscanhelpreducetheriskofapersondeveloping activedisease. How TB is spread TBisspreadwhenapersonwiththeactivediseaseofthelungsorupperairwayscoughsor sneezes.Peoplenearbymaybreatheinthesebacteriaandbecomeinfected.Thebacteriacansettle inthelungsandbegintogrow.Fromthere,theycanmovethroughthebloodorlymphaticsystem tootherpartsofthebodysuchasthekidney,spineandbrain.TBinthelungsorthroatcanbe spreadtootherpeople.TBinotherpartsofthebodyisusuallynotinfectious. AninfectedpersonwhodoesnothaveactivediseasecannottransmitTBtoanotherperson.Only peoplewithactivediseaseofthelungsorupperairwayscanpassontheinfection. SometimesamotherwhohasactiveTBdiseasethathasnotyetbeentreatedcanpassthegermto herbabybeforeorduringbirth(congenitaltuberculosis);however,thisisextremelyrare.There havebeenveryfewreportedcasesofthisintheworld. Active TB disease makes you ill SomeofthesymptomsofTBdiseaseinclude: Persistentcough Tiredness Nightsweats Weightloss Coughingupblood.

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Some people are more at risk than others ThenumberofpeoplewhogetTBinVictoriaisverylowabout300to350eachyear.Themost commonwaytocatchTBisifyouhaveclosecontactoveralongperiodoftimewithsomebody whohasactivediseaseinthelungs,beforetheybegintreatment. SomegroupsathigherriskofdevelopingactiveTBdiseaseinclude: Migrantsandrefugees AboriginalpeopleandTorresStraitIslanders(inNorthernAustralia) PeoplelivingwithHIVinfectionandAIDS Peoplewithpoorimmunity Alcoholics Elderlypeople Peoplelivingininstitutions Peoplelivinginovercrowdedconditions Peoplewithdiabetes Healthprofessionals.

Tuberculosis(TB)

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There is a vaccine against TB ThevaccineagainstTBiscalledBCG.Itisnolongerrecommendedforuseinthegeneral populationofVictoria,norisitrecommendedforhealthcareworkers.Itisonlyrecommendedfor peopleathighriskofinfection.Thesepeopleinclude: AboriginalandTorresStraitIslanderbabiesinhighriskregions Babiesborntoparentswithleprosy(TBandleprosyarecausedbysimilargerms) Childrenunderfivewhogotoliveinhighriskcountriesforalongtime Childrenunder16whoareregularlyexposedtosomeonewithactiveTBandwhocannotbe givenpreventativetreatment.

Testing for TB is simple IfyourdoctorthinksyouhavebeeninfectedwiththeTBgerm,askintestcanbedone.The TuberculinSkinTest(Mantouxtest)isoneoftheteststhatcanshowifyouarelikelytohavebeen infected.AnewbloodtestcalledQuantiferonTBGoldisnowalsoavailable.Youshouldbetested ifyou: AreinfectedwithHIV/AIDS Liveandworkinclosecontactwithsomeonewhohasrecentlybeendiagnosedwithactive TBofthelungs HaveanyTBsymptoms.

OthercommontestsforTBinclude: Achestx-raytoshowwhetherTBhasaffectedthelungs AsputumtesttoseeifTBgermsarepresentincoughed-upsputum.

Treatment IfyouhaveTBinfection,yourdoctormayprescribeacourseoftabletsorfollowupwithregular chestx-rays.ActiveTBdiseasecanbetreatedwithmedication,usuallyatamajorpublichospital orwithaspecialistphysician.ItwilltakeatleastsixmonthstocureTB,sometimeslonger. Itisveryimportantthatyoutakethefullcourseoftreatment.Ifyoudont,TBcanreturnandmay behardertocurebecauseitmaybecomeresistanttothemedication. TB medications can cause side effects Themedicationscancausesideeffectsincluding: Itchiness Upsetstomach Pinsandneedles Skinrash Blurredvision Darkurine(orange/redcoloredurineisanormalsideeffectandisnotharmful) Yelloweyes. Youshoulddiscussanysideeffectswithyourdoctor.

Where to get help Yourdoctor DepartmentofHumanServices,CommunicableDiseaseControlUnitTel.1300651160 NationalImmunisationInfolineTel.1800671811

Things to remember

TBisanuncommoninfectiousdiseaseinVictoria. OnlypeoplewithactiveTBofthelungscanpassoninfection. TBcanbetreatedwithmedication.

This page has been produced in consultation with, and approved by:

Tuberculosis(TB)

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DHS-CommunicableDiseaseControl

Copyight 1999/2009StateofVictoria.ReproducedfromtheBetterHealthChannel(www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au)at nocostwithpermissionoftheVictorianMinisterforHealth.Unauthorisedreproductionandotherusescomprisedinthe copyrightareprohibitedwithoutpermission. ThisBetterHealthChannelfactsheethaspassedthrougharigorousapprovalprocess.Forthelatestupdatesandmore informationvisitwww.betterhealth.vic.gov.au.

Tuberculosis(TB)

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