Tb In The Villages

[boloa]

After weeks of my wife being ill and numerous trips to the Doctors and Hospital being told my wife had Bronchitis and then Pneumonia ,I asked if she could be tested for Tuberculosis ( TB ). The Doctor told me as my wife did not have blood in her sputum so it was unlikely she had TB. Anyway to cut a long story short she was admitted to the Local Hospital and diagnosed with TB.

She was put in an isolation ward from the start and after 9 days of treatment she was allowed home but now has to take medication for up to 6 months and things are looking positive .

After talking to the Doctor that runs a small TB clinic at the local Hospital ,it tops up are village has a very high rate of TB.He told me his team has come to our Village many times and has spoken to Villagers that have TB and asked them to come to the Hospital for treatment or take a course of drugs that would stop them passing the infection onto other Villagers but to no-avail.

The reason for this post is that if anybody that has a family member that has has a persistent cough for a few weeks is to take then the the Hospital and get them tested for TB.The more people that are diagnosed and treated then the less chances of other family members and friends catching this ( in some cases lethal ) disease.

More info in this pdf file..... TB Policy in Thailand

PS.. The Doctor told me that out of every 100 people that get infected with TB only 10 of those infected will become sick with TB..Out of those 10 about 8 will have HIV ( which my wife has been tested for and the results were negative ). So he told me my wife must of come into contact with a TB carrier when she was ill and her natural defenses were low.

Edited July 18, 2012 by boloa

[MrRed]

How long after the blood test did the doctor give you the results?

Also did she have the skin test which is a needle in the under lower arm to see if there is a reaction from it?

I have just gone through the same process with my mrs and took her to Bumrangrad in Bangkok we await the results 2 months away.

[chuckd]

Good luck to both of you.

[boloa]

How long after the blood test did the doctor give you the results?

Also did she have the skin test which is a needle in the under lower arm to see if there is a reaction from it?

I have just gone through the same process with my mrs and took her to Bumrangrad in Bangkok we await the results 2 months away.

I am not a Doctor and we have just gone along with what they have told us about her TB ( although I have read a lot on the WWW). As far as I'm aware they did a Sputum Test and Blood tests to confirm her TB and HIV results .

[redroo]

wich village do you live in

[mikhill]

I'd like to respond as I have som experience of this. I live in a village in Roi Et and about 15 years ago my wife was struck down with TB. At that time I was working in the UK but took time off to care for her. Five years ago I was in Thailand for some time and thought I had bronchitis. As I was going back to the UK and had booked my ticket I carried on with the trip. Two or three weeks after arriving my health rapidly deteriorated and I ended up in hospital in Cardiff where they sai I had TB. I'd lost a lot of weight (under 50 kg) which means yoy cannot take the full drug treatment. They automatically assumed the I had AIDs because I had come from Thailand and this lowers your immune system. I should add that my mother had TB when I was a child. After one month of treatment I was admitted to hospital and spent 3 months in an isolation ward before my sputum showed I was no longer infectious. The only test for TB is sputum. Blood tests are probably for HIV. After another month in an open ward I was finall released and cleared to fly to Thailand. I had serious lung damage which has never rcovered(I am 64 so perhaps that was wishful thinking). On return to Roi Et I went to see the doctor at Rasi Salai hospital who had treated my wife. He said that TB is endemic to this area which I had neve suspected. Anyway he treated me for another 6 months before I got the all clear. I read recently on one of the local web sites that TB is ths second biggest killer in Thailand so sorry to be long winded but if you or someone close to you has a persistent cough I agree get tested for TB immediately. And the doctor in Rasi Salai told me his biggest problem is getting patients to take the drugs for the full period (usually 6 months) as when they feel better they stop taking them.

Regards Mike

[boloa]

wich village do you live in

I live in a Village in the northern part of Surin but our Village is no different from many other Villages in Isaan in the way the locals think and act.The drugs my wife are on are very strong but she is lucky that her Liver can handle them ( so far ).Many of the Villagers ( so I'm told) start taking the drugs but it makes them feel ill and lethargic so they stop taking the treatment and end up passing the TB on to someone else.

Also there are the Bi-monthly trips to the Hospital for new drugs and blood tests, far easier to just sit and cough ,hoping that Buddha will take care.

Edited July 18, 2012 by boloa

[SlyAnimal]

I thought TB was what they vaccinated everyone for in western countries when we are kids, by giving us an injection in our upper left arm which leaves a small scar. Likewise, my gf has obviously had the vaccination as well, because she also has the scar (Although hers is quite big).

Doesn't the government vaccinate people for it?

Or are you still vulnerable when your immune system is weak? (e.g. from HIV/AIDs and other sicknesses or from being very young/old etc).

[boloa]

I thought TB was what they vaccinated everyone for in western countries when we are kids, by giving us an injection in our upper left arm which leaves a small scar. Likewise, my gf has obviously had the vaccination as well, because she also has the scar (Although hers is quite big).

Doesn't the government vaccinate people for it?

Or are you still vulnerable when your immune system is weak? (e.g. from HIV/AIDs and other sicknesses or from being very young/old etc).

This may answer some of your questions

WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS?

The most common symptoms include:

• Cough lasting for more than two weeks, and sometimes with blood-streaked sputum.

• shortness of breath.

• loss of appetite and weight loss.

• fever and sweating.

• extreme fatigue.

HOW IS THE INFECTION RISK ASSESSED?

When someone is diagnosed with TB, a team of specialist health professionals will first make an assessment of the infection risk posed to others.

If TB bacilli are found in the sputum of the sufferer, then their contacts will be investigated to identify others who may have been infected.

Contacts are defined as 'close' - meaning household and immediate family - and 'casual' - meaning friends, work colleagues, schoolmates, etc. Casual contacts are investigated only if the TB sufferer is assessed to be a serious infection risk.

If you are identified as a contact at risk from TB, then you will be routinely invited for screening. Screening will consist of a skin test to determine if your immune system recognises TB.

The skin test will be done in one of two ways. The most common method is the Heaf test, which will take a week to come back.

The other method is the Mantoux test, which can be interpreted after three days. Both types of test involve a small injection into the skin of the forearm.

You may also be asked to have a chest X-ray, especially if the skin test is strongly positive.

In the UK, the majority of people have had the BCG vaccine and so their skin tests will often be mildly positive. This does not mean that they have TB: it just means that their immune systems recognise the disease.

Because TB can develop some time after exposure, contacts are advised to look out for symptoms and may be followed for up to one year, with further appointments for screening.

WHAT IS THE TREATMENT?

People who have a strongly positive skin test and/or evidence of TB infection found on a chest X-ray, or who are unwell, will be investigated further by a specialist doctor and may be given a course of anti-TB medication.

TB is treated with antibiotics that must be taken for at least six months. Modern anti-TB drugs are extremely effective and, in nearly all cases, sufferers feel much better after the first two weeks of medication.

It is important to note that within two weeks of taking the antibiotics, TB sufferers are no longer infectious and can return to life as normal.

Anti-TB drugs are always prescribed in combination to reduce the risk of the TB bacilli becoming resistant to one or more strains of them. Patients will usually be started on three or four drugs.

It is vital, as with all antibiotics, that the medication is taken as prescribed. Taking anti-TB medication for too short a time can lead to the development of drugresistance TB, which is much harder to treat and significantly increases the sufferers' risk of longterm complications, or even death.

HOW IS IT PREVENTED?

The BCG vaccine increases a person's immunity to TB and protects against the most severe forms of disease, such as TB meningitis. However, people who have had the BCG vaccine can still develop TB.

BCG immunisation programmes vary across the UK according to the local risk of TB infection. It is particularly recommended for newborn babies in families where there has been a case of TB, or whose members may be at increased risk of TB infection, but it is not compulsory.

A new, more effective and longer lasting BCG vaccine, called the BCG SSI vaccine, was passed by the Medicines Control Agency in September and will be administered to schoolchildren throughout Britain this month.

Although there is no preventive treatment for TB, scientists are in the early stages of developing a new vaccine that would protect adults completely from the disease.

A team of U.S. scientists at the Tuberculosis Research Unit has identified the particular molecules in the body's immune system - class II major histocompatibility complex (MHC-II) molecules - that the TB bacteria blocks from working, so disarming the body's natural immune response.

This has allowed scientists to begin development on an effective vaccine by making these molecules resistant to TB.

From the Daily Mail

[katana]

I had the TB vaccination as a kid, but not sure how long it lasts. I don't think kids nowadays don't have it in Europe.

[Mossfinn]

The only test for TB is sputum.

I think your memory is a little hazy and after such an awful illness, I am not surprised, Sputum is the most reliable from memory, but not the only one.

[Mossfinn]

I thought TB was what they vaccinated everyone for in western countries when we are kids, by giving us an injection in our upper left arm which leaves a small scar. Likewise, my gf has obviously had the vaccination as well, because she also has the scar (Although hers is quite big).

Doesn't the government vaccinate people for it?

Or are you still vulnerable when your immune system is weak? (e.g. from HIV/AIDs and other sicknesses or from being very young/old etc).

The BCG was a safe guard not a complete defence,

Edited July 18, 2012 by Mossfinn

[SlyAnimal]

The BCG was a safe guard not a complete defence,

Ok, just seems strange if there's a high percentage of people with TB, when everyone gets vaccinated at 7 years old.

Perhaps there is a strain prevalent here, which gets around the vaccine easily. In which case, we should be quite concerned.

Or is it perhaps, that a lot of people missed out on recieving the vaccine for whatever reason (Or maybe received a cheap imitation of the vaccination), and therefore it has spread to large portions of the population.

As even though the vaccine isn't perfect, I don't know why it would be widespread here, when they use the same immunisation as in western countries (Maybe even more, as I was reading in USA/Canada/UK they often don't vaccinate for it anymore)