(Location: California, USA)
Every now and then, the local news & local government announces that a TB case has been identified in the community, and it gives a list of possible locations & times at which people maybe have been exposed to it.
Example: Active TB case identified at X Gym. Possible locations include ABC train route, DEF school, XYZ grocery store…
Why is contact tracing for TB so much more serious than the flu or common cold?
In: Biology
It’s a pretty deadly disease (>1 million deaths globally per year) that can be spread relatively easily in densely populated areas and requires a long treatment course to eradicate. Unlike normal bacterial infections, where you can take an antibiotic for a week or two and then you’re good, the TB bacteria is covered in an almost wax-like coating which makes it hard to kill. It requires a combination of a few different antibiotics for the span of months, with these antibiotics having some annoying side effects. You could imagine that it could be challenging to coordinate in resource poor areas in the world, which is where the disease burden is the highest.
It’s also challenging to get rid of because many people have the TB bacteria in their system, but it’s not actively causing symptoms. This is known as latent TB, and it can be reactivated when there’s some sort of shakeup to the immune system, like a new immune modulating drug or HIV infection. These people might not even know it’s in their system. This is why people get tested with a skin prick, blood test, or chest X-ray before working in a hospital or other healthcare facility before hand. It’s also why you have to get tested before starting certain medications which alter your immune system.
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