( The poster of “don’t kiss me” I think shows how desperate medical institutions were in trying to stop the spread of TB. )Multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR TB) is a scary thought. This disease can take up to 2 years to treat verses the 6 months of regular TB. It is also believed that MDR TB is man made. When the treatments for TB were not being properly followed it caused for MDR TB. This definitely had consequences and it changed how treatment and management of other diseases are controlled. New programs like DOT are costly, but they help to make sure treatment is being done correctly.
The podcast talked about ways to protect your self from MDR TB like having better TB control and rapid diagnosis. But yet the outbreak that happened in Thailand, occurred in an area where it was crowded and poorly ventilated. This made it easy for the disease to be transmitted. What should be proposed to help protect the areas that are not economically stable? Having a costly treatment program is not realistic.
The policy to screen immigrants and refugees for TB coming to the United States might make your back yard feel safe, but it mostly likely wont be 100% safe. The disease is powerful enough to be a “global epidemic” and should be taken seriously. A vaccine is still being researched while outbreaks continue to occur. MDR TB will be a concerning issue for many generations to come. Since it takes so long to treat MDR TB it will be harder to stop any major breakouts. If a serious outbreak ever occured in the US, I wouldn't be surprised if fear drove people to start wearing face masks. The diagnosis of TB is already difficult and having a strong form of it like MDR TB only increases the need for a vaccination.
This website had some interesting information on TB, the map posted is also from this site. It looks like the US is fortunate to not have as many cases as the other countries, but it might just be because of the wealth or even maybe the screening policy.
http://earthtrends.wri.org/updates/node/177
The podcast talked about ways to protect your self from MDR TB like having better TB control and rapid diagnosis. But yet the outbreak that happened in Thailand, occurred in an area where it was crowded and poorly ventilated. This made it easy for the disease to be transmitted. What should be proposed to help protect the areas that are not economically stable? Having a costly treatment program is not realistic.
The policy to screen immigrants and refugees for TB coming to the United States might make your back yard feel safe, but it mostly likely wont be 100% safe. The disease is powerful enough to be a “global epidemic” and should be taken seriously. A vaccine is still being researched while outbreaks continue to occur. MDR TB will be a concerning issue for many generations to come. Since it takes so long to treat MDR TB it will be harder to stop any major breakouts. If a serious outbreak ever occured in the US, I wouldn't be surprised if fear drove people to start wearing face masks. The diagnosis of TB is already difficult and having a strong form of it like MDR TB only increases the need for a vaccination.
This website had some interesting information on TB, the map posted is also from this site. It looks like the US is fortunate to not have as many cases as the other countries, but it might just be because of the wealth or even maybe the screening policy.
http://earthtrends.wri.org/updates/node/177
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That is a very interesting map. It is interesting how there have not been as many cases of TB in many of the developed countries, including North America, Western Europe, and Austraila. It does seem likely that it is because of wealth and the screening policy. Most people in developed countries have access to medical care that people in developing countries simply do not have. Also, we have better housing conditions.
ReplyDeleteI agree that if there ever was a major outbreak of MDR TB in the United States, it would be very difficult to treat, and I know I would be willing to wear a mask when out in public!