World Tuberculosis Day | Together we can end the tuberculosis epidemic

World Tuberculosis Day | Together we can end the tuberculosis epidemic

Tongling Disease Control

The 29th World Tuberculosis Day

The theme of this year's event is

“Together we can end the tuberculosis epidemic”

1. What is tuberculosis?

Tuberculosis is a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis invading the human body. The pathogen of tuberculosis is Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which can invade any organ of the human body, such as the brain, gastrointestinal tract, pericardium, pelvic cavity, bone, peritoneum, lymph, skin, etc. However, most people infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis develop the disease in the lungs, which is called pulmonary tuberculosis. Lesions in other parts of the body are collectively called extrapulmonary tuberculosis.

2. Under what circumstances can tuberculosis bacteria survive easily? What methods can be used to kill tuberculosis bacteria?

The survival ability of tuberculosis bacteria is strong. At room temperature and in a dark place, tuberculosis bacteria in dry sputum can survive for 6-8 months, and tuberculosis bacteria adhering to flying air dust can remain infectious for 8-10 days. Tuberculosis bacteria are generally tolerant to low temperatures and can survive for 4-5 years at around -6°C. Tuberculosis bacteria are more tolerant to dry heat. They can be killed by exposure to sunlight for 2-7 hours or 4-5 hours at 100°C. Things used by tuberculosis patients can be placed in strong sunlight for half a day, which can basically achieve the purpose of disinfection. In hot and humid conditions, tuberculosis bacteria are more likely to be killed. They can be killed at 60°C for 30 minutes, 70°C for 10 minutes, 80°C for 5 minutes, and 90°C for 1 minute. Therefore, boiling and high-pressure steam sterilization are the most effective methods to kill tuberculosis bacteria. Exposed tuberculosis bacteria can be killed after 2 minutes in 70% alcohol, so alcohol can be used for skin disinfection. In addition, the commonly used "84" disinfectant can kill tuberculosis bacteria in 15 minutes with a concentration of 0.5%. However, if the tuberculosis bacteria are mixed in sputum, alcohol or 84 disinfectant will not be effective.

3. What are the common symptoms of tuberculosis?

In the early stage of pulmonary tuberculosis, like other diseases, there are no obvious symptoms due to the small lesions. Even if there are symptoms, they lack specificity and are easily overlooked by patients and doctors. The main symptoms of pulmonary tuberculosis are: coughing and expectoration for more than 2 weeks. You should be highly suspicious of pulmonary tuberculosis and go to the hospital for treatment in time. Patients with pulmonary tuberculosis may also have symptoms such as blood in sputum, low-grade fever, night sweats, afternoon fever, chest pain, fatigue, weight loss, and difficulty breathing.

4. What are the dangers of tuberculosis?

Tuberculosis is a chronic respiratory infectious disease that seriously endangers people's health. If it is not treated in time, it will cause lung damage to individuals, affect work and life, and even endanger your life in serious cases; it may also infect your relatives and friends. If you have tuberculosis and do not complete regular treatment according to the course of treatment, it is very likely to turn into difficult-to-treat drug-resistant tuberculosis.

5. How is tuberculosis transmitted?

The main source of tuberculosis infection is sputum smear-positive patients with pulmonary tuberculosis. Tuberculosis bacteria are mainly transmitted through droplets. Pulmonary tuberculosis patients mainly spread microdroplets containing tuberculosis bacteria into the air through coughing or sneezing. Healthy people can be infected by inhaling microdroplets containing tuberculosis bacteria. Healthy people may not develop tuberculosis after being infected by tuberculosis bacteria. Whether they develop the disease depends on the virulence of tuberculosis bacteria and the strength of the body's resistance. When a person is infected with tuberculosis bacteria for the first time, there are usually no symptoms, but the disease may occur when the resistance decreases.

6. Who is susceptible to tuberculosis?

1. People who have close contact with tuberculosis patients: For example, family members of tuberculosis patients are prone to the disease because they have close contact with patients every day.

2. People with low immunity: such as AIDS patients, diabetics, and patients undergoing chemotherapy, are prone to tuberculosis infection due to low immunity.

3. Those who use immunosuppressants for a long time: The immunity of this type of patients is suppressed, their resistance to pathogenic bacteria is weak, and they are susceptible to tuberculosis infection.

4. People with underlying lung diseases: such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, bronchial asthma, etc., are also susceptible to tuberculosis.

5. Long-term smokers and drug users: Long-term smoking and drug use will damage lung function, reduce the lung's ability to resist pathogenic bacteria, and make it easy to get sick.

In addition, the elderly, children who have not been vaccinated with BCG, and malnourished people are also susceptible to tuberculosis. Once infected with tuberculosis, it is recommended to actively seek medical treatment and use anti-tuberculosis drugs as prescribed by the doctor.

7. How to prevent the spread of tuberculosis?

1. BCG vaccination: BCG is an effective vaccine for preventing tuberculosis. BCG vaccination for newborns is one of the basic immunizations in the child immunization program. Widespread BCG vaccination can effectively reduce the incidence and transmission risk of tuberculosis.

2. Strengthen personal hygiene habits: Maintaining good personal hygiene habits can effectively prevent the spread of tuberculosis, including washing hands frequently, covering coughs and sneezes with tissues or elbows, and avoiding close contact with patients.

3. Improve indoor air circulation: Tuberculosis is mainly transmitted through the air, so maintaining indoor air circulation is very important for preventing tuberculosis. Frequently opening windows for ventilation, especially in crowded places, can effectively reduce the spread of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

4. Avoid sharing tableware and towels with patients: The saliva or respiratory secretions of tuberculosis patients may contain Mycobacterium tuberculosis, so you should avoid sharing tableware and towels with patients to avoid spreading the germs.

5. Regular physical examinations: timely detection of tuberculosis infection and patients, and appropriate treatment measures can be taken to reduce the spread of the bacteria. Regular tuberculin tests or chest X-rays can help detect tuberculosis at an early stage.

6. Eat a healthy diet and get enough sleep: Maintaining adequate nutrition and good physical condition can improve the body's ability to resist disease and reduce the risk of tuberculosis infection. Eat a healthy diet, take in enough protein, vitamins and minerals, and get enough sleep to help enhance immunity.

7. Relax your body and mind and relieve fatigue: Long-term overwork and stress will reduce the body's immunity and increase the risk of tuberculosis infection. Reasonable arrangement of work and rest time and maintaining a good mental state can effectively prevent tuberculosis.

Tuberculosis is preventable and treatable .

Each of us has the responsibility to participate in the prevention and treatment of tuberculosis.

Let us join hands to end the tuberculosis epidemic and safeguard the health of the people!