(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
I’m working in IT in the financial sector. We had an Indian consultant from an outsourcing partner come work on site here in Denmark.
The guy used to look well-fed, but seemed to have lost a lot of weight in the recent year or so. He also had some problems with his respiration. He was not looking well during the 6 months he was here. He refused to go see a doctor even though we told him he probably should be checked, allegdely because he didn’t trust doctors here or because he feared that it might be expensive (it would be free).
Eventually his wife (who was with him on site) made him go to the doctor, when he started to be very ill and having episodes of incoherence. The GP immediately admitted him to the hospital.
Within 2 weeks he passed away. Turned out he had untreated TB, that had eventually spread to his spine and brain. There was nothing they could do to save him at that point. If he had gone to the doctor when he started having respiratory problems (in India where they’re probably much more familiar with cases of TB) or even when he arrived here, he probably could have been treated before the condition turned fatal. Because he didn’t want to go to a doctor, a promising young man passed away at 24 years old.
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