Tuberculosis

[Thomas]

(Perhaps it's worth an own.)

The covering chances are different from some other vaccines.

Children: Normaly 80 %.

Grown ups: 0-80%. ALSO if get a new shot.

I guess most expats are old enough to have got vaccinations when we were children, back when tuberculosis wasn't "killed" yet in our birth countries. (Now it has came back by more traveling.)

Philippines:

(I have seen some different numbers, but something like this, I believe.)

1/3 carry the bacteria. It can stay latent many years and start much later, but only 1/10 of them get ill ever.

If the ill don't get treatment, 50 % of them die. (Need multiple antibiotics during a long period, a half year or so.)

Around 40 000 die per year.

Anyone knowing if it's mainly Philipine people weakend by old age or something who die?

Anyone knowing if any kano have died by it in the Philippines?

[Beachboy]

I think you fatality rate is a little high. This link gives 28,000 http://www.globalhealthfacts.org/data/topic/map.aspx?ind=18.

If you live or work in Asia for any period of time, there's a good chance you'll contact the bacteria. The childhood vaccination does not provide much protection in adulthood. You can get another vaccination, but that should be discussed with your doctor. The problem is that a new vaccination will invalidate the skin test, so you will have no way of knowing if you're been exposed.

When I worked in India/Bangladesh, the State Department recommended against getting a new vaccination. We got frequent skin tests and if there was a positive we got antibiotics.

Whether TB develops or not depends upon you immune system. The malnourished, the elderly, diabetics and especially those with HIV are the most vulnerable. If you contact the disease when you are young, there's about a 10% change of it developing when you are older. But I wouldn't worry. By that time cancer, heart disease, diabetes, flu, pneumonia or being run over in a cross walk because you can't hear the on-coming car will probably get you before TB does. Growing old's a bitch anyway ... so why the hell worry :cheersty:

[i am bob]

A couple months ago, I was reading a paper written about TB throughout the world. For the Philippines, the majority of deaths was amongst the poor who could not afford the antibiotics to treat it. It turns out that it wasn't actually the antibiotics as the poor can get them for free but rather the cost of transportation needed to get to where they could get the antibiotics.

[Thomas]

We got frequent skin tests and if there was a positive we got antibiotics.

How often did they find such tests needed to be done?

[Call me bubba]

1.philhealth covers TB treatment.

2.Since no social class(rich or poor) is immune

Why not have them tested NOW than wait til later when it could be harder (or costly) to treat.

Since the loved ones that live in our house,or take care of our children,they could infect us or others

3.If they are ill , they cant work, they cant support themselves, .So by being "pro-active" we can help in a small way to make their lives better

Edited October 24, 2012 by Pittman apartments Sgn

[Call me bubba]

We got frequent skin tests and if there was a positive we got antibiotics.

How often did they find such tests needed to be done?

They dont skin test that much here, at least I have found out over the years, usually X-ray is taken,

how often? cant recall. but if your exposed to those that have it, a yearly check up/X-ray?

[Thomas]

We got frequent skin tests and if there was a positive we got antibiotics.

How often did they find such tests needed to be done?

They dont skin test that much here, at least I have found out over the years, usually X-ray is taken,

how often? cant recall. but if your exposed to those that have it, a yearly check up/X-ray?

Yes, but it take longer time before xray would show anything, wouldn't it?

[volstateguy]

I was exposed to TB during my last assignment to Korea and tested positive for inactive TB after arriving to my assignment in Germany. The treatment was 9 months of antibiotics and B6 vitamins....the B6 was to help with kidney function. I couldn't have beer while on the meds do to the strain the meds put on my kidneys....sucks...I'm in Germany and can't drink German beer for 9 months. After the meds I was never retested. I was told that I would always test positive for the skin test after being exposed. Hopefully the antibiotics killed the TB and it doesn't become active later in life. Or by being exposed to TB once again after I move to the Philippines.

[Beachboy]

.. I was also told that once you are exposed to TB you will always have a positive skin test .. don't know anything about the antibiotic treatment since I never tested positive. Since exposure rate is so high in the Phils I can see why they don't bother with skin-testing I think X-rays are done to see if you have contagious TB. When and where is really something you should ask a doctor.

.. deaths due to lack of transportation to clinics. I've read about this too. What good is free medical care if have no way of going to the doctor? On paper the Phils has a well designed medical system. There's supposed to be one clinic in each barangay staffed by a doctor and nurses. And there is suppose to be one volunteer medical outreach worker for each 20 families in the barangay. But it is not well funded. I suppose buying Italian warships is more important.

[i am bob]

If I remember correctly, everything was in place for the antibiotics... The funding was there, the prescriptions were available, everything except for one thing... Only certain places carried the antibiotics that were required and that required the people to often travel quite a distance to get them!