Mar. 24--World TB Day isn't exactly a time for the Brownsville community to celebrate.
The rate of tuberculosis here is about three times as pervasive as the national average, and the threat of multi-drug resistant TB looms large. That means, whereas 4.2 new cases per 100,000 are averaged nationwide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 12 new cases per 100,000 occur in Brownsville annually.
So should everyone in Brownsville go out and get tested for TB today, the way we're encouraged to do on World AIDS Day? Dr. Blanca I. Restrepo says you should get tested -- but only if you have symptoms. Otherwise, you could get a false positive.
Symptoms of TB include a persistent cough that lasts for more than two weeks, night sweats, weight loss and chest pain.
Restrepo is an associate professor of epidemiology in the University of Texas School of Public Health Brownsville campus. Her research is focused on the link between TB and diabetes, another disease prevalent in Brownsville. Restrepo says that Brownsville's rate of TB might be lower, were it not for the rate of diabetes here.
"The thought is that someone with diabetes is more prone to TB because they have a compromised immune response to the bacterium," Restrepo said. About 40 percent of those with TB are also diabetic, Restrepo said.
In its early stages, TB is relatively easy and inexpensive to treat. But once TB progresses, or if the patient has a multi-drug resistant strain of the disease, treatment can get much more difficult and expensive. A new report from the World Health Organization shows that in some areas of the globe, one in four new cases of TB is multi-drug resistant. That means the international community must work together to stop the spread of TB. How can this be done? The first defense is diagnosis. By diagnosing TB early, those ailing can often get effective treatment and, just as importantly, stop the spread of TB.
About one in four cases of multi-drug resistant TB in the state are in South Texas, according to Dr. Brian Smith, the regional director for the Texas Department of State Health Services. Smith wants people to know that the state of Texas will pay for treatment of TB, even if it is multi-drug resistant, at no cost to the resident.
"No questions asked," Smith said.
Smith says that many of those who die of TB had been treated by several doctors, none of whom diagnosed the illness. He suggests that patients who have symptoms specifically request the test from their doctors, rather than waiting for the doctor to suggest it.
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