National Tuberculosis

Awareness Month
  Tuberculosis is a disease caused by a bacterium
called Mycobeacterium tuberculosis that is mainly
acquired by inhalation of infectious droplets
containing viable tubercle bacilli.

Infectious droplets can be produced by coughing,

sneezing, talking and singing. Coughing is generally
considered as the most efficient way of producing
infectious droplets.
Symptoms:
A cough that lasts for more than 3 weeks

Fever and heavy night sweats

Loss of appetite

Feeling unusually tired or ill

Unexplained Weight loss

If you have these symptoms go and see your Doctor

 Who is likely to get TB?

Anyone can get TB but there are some groups who are
more at risk than others, including people who:
• were born in or have links to sub-Saharan Africa, the
Indian sub-continent, parts of eastern Europe or other
countries with high rates of TB
• are homeless or live in poorly ventilated or
overcrowded accommodation
• are dependent on drugs or alcohol
• have a weakened immune system, through HIV or other
illness
• have been in prison.
Protect your family and friends

If you have active TB, keep your germs to yourself. Follow these
tips to help keep your friends and family from getting sick:

Stay home. Don't go to work

or school or sleep in a room
with other people during the
first few weeks of
treatment for active
tuberculosis.
Ventilate the room. Tuberculosis
germs spread more easily in small
closed spaces where air doesn't
move. If it's not too cold outdoors,
open the windows and use a fan to
blow indoor air outside.
 Cover your mouth. Use a tissue
to cover your mouth anytime you
laugh, sneeze or cough. Put the
dirty tissue in a bag, seal it and
throw it away.

Wear a mask. Wearing a
surgical mask when you're
around other people during the
first three weeks of treatment
may help lessen the risk of
transmission.

Finish your entire course of medication

This is the most important step you can take to

protect yourself and others from tuberculosis.
When you stop treatment early or skip doses, TB
bacteria have a chance to develop mutations that
allow them to survive the most potent TB drugs.
The resulting drug-resistant strains are much
more deadly and difficult to treat.
 Myths about TB
Some people do not know that TB is curable
– which it is! Others believe it is hereditary,
highly contagious or can be caught from
touching a person or their things – none of
these are true. In fact, TB can only be
caught by breathing in bacteria coughed or
sneezed out by someone who has the illness,
usually over a period of many hours.
“Every breath counts. TB Anywhere Is TB
Everywhere.”
For further information please seek the clinic team.