What is the Kissing Bug?

“Kissing bugs” have been invading headlines for the past two weeks as the CDC has reported the deadly bug has made its way into the United States. They’ve been found in 28 states.  Estimates of human cases of Chagas disease in the US range from 300,000 to over 1 million, with particular concern for those living in the US/Mexico border regions. An estimated 9 million people are infected in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in impoverished areas. According to the World Health Organization, the largest number of people living with Chagas disease are in poor areas of Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia and Mexico.

How concerned should you be?

Kissing Bugs  transmit Chagas, a chronic heart disease caused by the blood parasite Trypanosoma cruzi.  Chagas infection is strongly linked with poverty, and kissing bugs are mostly found in homes with dirt floors and in poor repair. If you spend lots of time outdoors in wooded areas, then you might need to think about controlling your exposure to these bugs. A high percentage of the kissing bugs in Texas are infected with the trypanosome parasite and show evidence of feeding on human blood. Dogs also can be infected.

Kissing bugs are a relative of bed bugs, and they both feed the same way. They stick a beaky straw into your skin and drink your blood. It’s not the bite that transmits the disease. Kissing bugs poop after they feed, and if the bug is infected, its poop contains the parasite. When you scratch the itchy bite there is a chance you will rub the bug feces into the wound. Unless you get poop from an infected bug under your skin you won’t get infected with Chagas.

If you manage to be bitten by one of these bugs, and if a very specific set of circumstances occur, odds are you still won’t be infected. Research suggests that it can take more than 900 bites for transmission to occur.

Chagas disease, also known as American trypanosomiasis,  still should not be taken lightly. It is a leading cause of heart disease resulting in a debilitating and often fatal condition known as Chagasic cardiomyopathy. One in six people with Chagasic cardiomyopathy will die within five years.

How can you avoid your exposure?

Start by reducing the amount of debris and vegetation directly around your home, such as leaf piles and stacks of wood. This also reduces places that rodents might nest, since they are known hosts of kissing bugs. Repair cracks and gaps in homes; make sure screens and doors are tight. Outdoor lights will sometimes attract kissing bugs; minimizing the amount of lights left on at night around your home may help.

For more information on Kissing Bugs and Changas disease visit the CDC directly at http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/chagas/gen_info/vectors/.  Here at Shepard Medical our mission is to help keep you safe from infectious diseases; as always tweet any questions to us at @ShepardMedical.

It’s #FluFactFriday!

Did you know according to the CDC Influenza affects about 20% of Americans every year. In the United States alone, it is estimated that about 36,000 people will die of the flu or flu-related complications every season. One of the best ways to protect yourself is to get vaccinated! If you do find yourself experiencing illness you might find yourself wondering if you just have a cold or if you have the dreaded flu. Use this chart below to help guide you, and as always seek medical care if you are experiencing flu like symptoms.

Each year roughly 1 out of 6 Americans (48 million people) get sick, approximately 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die from foodborne diseases. By reducing foodborne illness by just 1% about 500,000 Americans would keep from getting sick each year; reducing foodborne illness by 10% would keep about 5 million from getting sick. That is a lot of people! From protecting yourself from potentially contaminated food at the grocery store, to property storing, cleaning and cooking food at home, below are food and safety tips you should practice to help keep you and your family safe.

Smart Shopping

Be aware of potential safety risks when purchasing food at grocery stores or farmers markets, and from wholesalers. Visit the Food and Drug Administration and Food Safety and Inspection Service websites for the latest food and drug recalls. Follow @USDAFoodSafety and @FDArecalls on twitter to get the latest recall information, you can also follow us at @ShepardMedical where we post food recalls in the US. FSIS (Food Safety and Inspection Service) recommends: “If you sense there’s a problem with any food product, don’t consume it. ‘When in doubt, throw it out.’” Do not eat or taste food from cans that bulge or leak or that have a sticky residue or an unusual smell as the food could be contaminated. Read food packaging labels for instructions on how to store foods after opening and for expiration dates.

Be especially careful when picking out produce and meat. Make sure the produce is not bruised because pathogens are more likely to grow on bruised areas. Be aware of fungus growing on produce because spores could be inside it. Always check for insects on produce. Raw meat, poultry and fish can be contaminated with bacteria, so it is best to put the product in a bag to reduce cross-contamination with other grocery items. If your local grocer does not keep bags at the meat counter don’t be afraid to suggest it.

Food preparation

Proper temperature is important to keep food safe. Buy a food thermometer to ensure you are cooking raw meats and eggs to proper temperatures. Store food promptly in a refrigerator at 40 F or cooler. Do not overload refrigerators or freezers as that may prevent cool air from circulating. Defrost food in the refrigerator, in cold water or in the microwave.

Storage

Proper storage helps maintain food at safe temperatures and prevents cross contamination. Store milk, eggs, seafood and meat inside the refrigerator or freezer, not in door compartments. This keeps food at a steadier temperature. Store raw meat in the lowest compartment of the refrigerator and make sure that it isn’t leaking blood. Do not store food under the sink. Pipe leaks could contaminate it. Also don’t store food near chemicals or cleaning products. Seafood should always stay in the refrigerator or freezer until cooking time.

Washing

Washing may reduce risk in some but not all foods. Do not wash eggs. They already have been washed in commercial production. An extra washing may increase risk of cross-contamination or crack the shell Do not wash meat or poultry as this does not remove pathogens. Washing produce with cold running water removes dirt, reducing (but not completely eliminating) bacteria that may be present. Don’t use soap or detergent, or you may ingest it.
Practice the above tips to help purchase and prepare healthy food. If you have any additional questions we’re here to help! Tweet us @ShepardMedical. Also follow us on Pinterest where we are continually pinning food safety tips!

What is MRSA and how to protect yourself.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, more popularly known as MRSA is caused by a strain of staph bacteria that’s become resistant to the antibiotics commonly used to treat ordinary staph infections.

Most MRSA infections occur in people who’ve been in hospitals or other health care settings, such as nursing homes and dialysis centers. When it occurs in these settings, it’s known as health care-associated MRSA (HA-MRSA). HA-MRSA infections typically are associated with invasive procedures or devices, such as surgeries, intravenous tubing or artificial joints.

Another type of MRSA infection has occurred in the wider community — among healthy people. This form, community-associated MRSA (CA-MRSA), often begins as a painful skin boil. It’s spread by skin-to-skin contact. At-risk populations include groups such as high school wrestlers, child care workers and people who live in crowded conditions.

Symptoms:

If not treated promptly and correctly MRSA can lead to serious health complications, even death. MRSA generally starts as small red bumps that resemble pimples, boils or spider bites. These can quickly turn into deep, painful abscesses that require surgical draining. Sometimes the bacteria remain confined to the skin. But they can also burrow deep into the body, causing potentially life-threatening infections in bones, joints, surgical wounds, the bloodstream, heart valves and lungs.

Always keep a close eye on minor skin conditions, particularly in children. If a wound becomes infected see a doctor immediately. MRSA is not something you should attempt to treat on your own, as it can worsen rapidly and can spread to other people.

Where are you most likely to get MRSA?

Because hospital and community strains of MRSA generally occur in different settings, the risk of contracting the two strains differ.

Risk factors for health care-associated MRSA

• Being hospitalized. MRSA remains a concern in hospitals, where it can attack those most vulnerable — older adults and people with weakened immune systems.
• Having an invasive medical device. Medical tubing — such as intravenous lines or urinary catheters — can provide a pathway for MRSA to travel into your body.
• Residing in a long-term care facility. MRSA is prevalent in nursing homes. Carriers of MRSA have the ability to spread it, even if they’re not sick themselves.

Risk factors for community-associated MRSA

• Participating in contact sports. MRSA can spread easily through cuts and abrasions and skin-to-skin contact.
• Living in crowded or unsanitary conditions. Outbreaks of MRSA have occurred in military training camps, child care centers and jails.
• Men having sex with men. Homosexual men have a higher risk of developing MRSA infections.

Tests and diagnosis

Doctors diagnose MRSA by checking a tissue sample or nasal secretions for signs of drug-resistant bacteria. The sample is sent to a lab where it’s placed in a dish of nutrients that encourage bacterial growth. But because it takes about 48 hours for the bacteria to grow, newer tests that can detect staph DNA in a matter of hours are now becoming more widely available.

Treatments and drugs

Both health care-associated and community-associated strains of MRSA still respond to certain antibiotics. In some cases, antibiotics may not be necessary. Doctors may drain a superficial abscess caused by MRSA rather than treat the infection with drugs.

How to protect yourself from MRSA

• In the hospital, people who are infected or colonized with MRSA often are placed in isolation as a precaution to prevent the spread of MRSA. Visitors and health care workers caring for people in isolation may be required to wear protective garments and must follow strict hand hygiene procedures. Contaminated surfaces and laundry items should be properly disinfected.
• Wash your hands. Careful hand-washing remains your best defense against germs. Scrub hands briskly for at least 15 seconds, then dry them with a disposable towel and use another towel to turn off the faucet. Carry a small bottle of hand sanitizer containing at least 62 percent alcohol for times when you don’t have access to soap and water.
• Keep wounds covered. Keep cuts and abrasions clean and covered with sterile, dry bandages until they heal. The pus from infected sores may contain MRSA, and keeping wounds covered will help keep the bacteria from spreading.
• Keep personal items personal. Avoid sharing personal items such as towels, sheets, razors, clothing and athletic equipment. MRSA spreads on contaminated objects as well as through direct contact.
• Shower after athletic games or practices. Shower immediately after each game or practice. Use soap and water. Don’t share towels.
• Sanitize linens. If you have a cut or sore, wash towels and bed linens in a washing machine set to the hottest water setting (with added bleach, if possible) and dry them in a hot dryer. Wash gym and athletic clothes after each wearing.

With fall sports right around the corner be sure to protect yourself and see a doctor if you have cuts or scrapes that become infected. Still have questions about MRSA? Tweet us @ShepardMedical more information

Summer is flying by and colleges will soon be in session. While college presents a new world of opportunity it also presents a new world of risks. Many students live in communal living spaces, less-than-sanitary conditions and acquire irregular sleeping habits; all of which can leave students vulnerable to disease. Below we’ve gathered some of the top questions and answers about vaccination recommendations for students heading off to college this fall. If you have additional questions send us a tweet @ShepardMedical !

What are the top vaccines that college students need?
Almost every college requires or strongly recommends students be vaccinated for meningitis, especially if they plan to live in the dorms. Close quarters make it easier for bacteria to spread.

Meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MenACWY): Helps protect against bacterial meningitis and may be required for certain college students (requirements vary by state). First-year college students living in residence halls are recommended to be vaccinated with   meningococcal conjugate vaccine.
If they received this vaccine before their 16th birthday, they should get a booster dose before going to college for maximum protection. The risk for meningococcal disease among non-first-year college students is similar to that for the general population. However, MenACWY is safe and effective and therefore can be provided to non-first-year college students.

Seasonal flu vaccine: Protects against the three or four flu viruses that research indicates will be most common during the upcoming season. The flu can cause severe illness that may require hospital care, even in healthy adults. In general, the flu vaccine works best among young healthy adults and older children. Flu vaccination can reduce flu illnesses, doctors’ visits and missed work and school due to flu, as well as prevent flu-related hospitalizations and deaths.

Tdap vaccine: Protects against tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis, or whooping cough. A single dose of Tdap is routinely recommended for preteens and teens (preferably at age 11-12 years); however, adults 19 or older who did not receive Tdap as a preteen or teen should receive a single dose of Tdap.
Tdap is especially important for pregnant women and those in close contact with infants.  Tdap can be given no matter when Td (tetanus and diphtheria vaccine) was last received.

Will my college’s student health center provide vaccinations?
Some colleges do provide vaccinations for students but it varies greatly among schools. Students should check into whether it is provided and whether the cost is covered with their college’s health center.

What do I need to watch out for in the hours or days after vaccination?
The vaccines mentioned are remarkably safe. As always contact your doctor if experiencing unusual sickness.

I have no idea what shots I got when I was younger. What do I need to do — call my pediatrician?
Most colleges send you a health form to fill out before you go. That’s your opportunity to visit your pediatrician and talk about your immunization record. Each patient will have a different situation, and their medical records can bring them up to date.

For more information on the above vaccinations visit the CDC website directly at http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/

Pharmacy Retailers/ Health Care Professionals:

When giving vaccinations Vytrile gloves provide premium protection for health care professionals. Vytrile is a low cost latex alternative that provides up to 3 times the strength of Vinyl gloves, allowing 0% viral penetration. A healthcare worker must change gloves between each patient encounter. Below you will find details on our Vytrile glove. Feel free to contact us to request a sample if you are interested in using our trusted CareMates products, 800-354-5683 or email us at info@shepard-medical.com . https://www.shepard-medical.com/vytrile-medical-examination-gloves/

Shepard Medical Products CEO, Chris Wright, is featured in this month’s Elements Magazine by PBA Health discussing how to choose the right medical gloves for your pharmacy. The entire issue is available for viewing online here: https://www.pbahealth.com/elements/issues/

How to Choose the Right Medical Gloves for Your Pharmacy

All gloves are created equal.

That’s the biggest misconception pharmacists have about medical gloves, according to Chris Wright, CEO of Shepard Medical Products, a company that develops infection protection products.

Instead, each material—latex, vinyl, nitrile or synthetic—offers protection for different situations.

“A pharmacist needs to know, ‘How am I going to use this product?’” Wright said. If you’re using—or selling—the wrong type of gloves for the task, you might be inadvertently putting yourself, your staff or your patients in harm’s way.

What to look for

When it comes to purchasing medical gloves, there’s one word you need to look for.

“The key word is ‘examination,’” Wright said. “If it doesn’t have ‘examination’ or ‘exam’ on the package, you really don’t want it. Often times I find pharmacies have gloves that say ‘latex gloves’ or ‘disposal gloves’ but if they don’t have the words ‘exam’ or ‘examination’ on them, it’s a product that’s not suitable for infection protection.”

Gloves labeled “examination” or “exam” are medical grade gloves. They’re vigorously tested and meet the standards set by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). “The glove has to pass the water-leak test, the elongation test, and the tensile strength test,” Wright said.

The powder problem

Powdered gloves may be easier to get on, but you should always choose powder-free gloves for your pharmacy.

Powdered gloves are usually banned in nursing homes, continued care facilities and hospitals because they increase the chance of spreading infection.

“When handling drugs in a pharmacy, those chemicals are on the surface of the glove,” Wright said. “When you take a powdered glove off, anything that’s on your hands is now in the air and you’re breathing it in.”

Types of Gloves

Vinyl
Vinyl gloves are low-cost and offer basic protection against infection, but keep in mind that the thinner the glove, the more likely it is to tear.
“There are all levels of quality and thickness, and vinyl gloves are at the lower end of that spectrum,” Wright said. “The thinner you go—down to about 4 mils in thickness—the more likely they are to tear.”

Latex
“If you just want to keep your hands clean from infection, then almost any exam glove will do the job,” Wright said. This includes latex gloves.

One problem with latex gloves, however, is that the material can cause allergy concerns, especially when the glove is powdered.

“When you take off a powdered latex glove, the powder and the antigens from the rubber are released into the air,” Wright said. “People can have anaphylactic shock syndrome as a result of breathing the air where rubber gloves were being used.”

Even if none of your employees are allergic to latex, patients might be, and latex allergens go into the air even with powder-free gloves.

When purchasing a latex glove to stock in your front end for first aid or wound treatment, Wright recommends looking for a latex glove that is powder-free and polymer coated.

Vytrile™
“Vytrile is a unique synthetic,” Wright said. “It’s softer, more flexible, and has greater tactility than a vinyl glove.” Vytrile offers three times the amount of strength as vinyl gloves, too.

Vytrile is a great hypoallergenic substitute for latex. “It’s a safe alternative to latex, but closer to latex than vinyl,” Wright said. “For a very nominal difference in cost, you could choose Vytrile over vinyl and have a better product that offers complete protection from viral penetration and alcohol permeation.” Vytrile is also powder-free.

Vytrile gloves work well for general first aid use and for administering vaccinations.

Nitrile
For the highest level of protection, Wright recommends using nitrile gloves. “There isn’t another glove that has greater non-permeability factors to it,” he said.

The synthetic material is good for several applications in the pharmacy. “Nitrile is good for chemotherapy, home infusion, compounding, or handling drugs inside the pharmacy,” he said.

While nitrile gloves are marginally more expensive, they offer superior protection. And according to Wright, when pharmacies choose gloves based on price alone, they put themselves at risk.

“If you’re really sincere about protecting yourself, your employees and your customers from infection or from contamination from drugs, you want the best possible protection you can get, and that means you pay a little more,” he said.

The right fit

When choosing a glove, pharmacists often make a common mistake—size.

“Everybody thinks they need to be skintight,” said Chris Wright, CEO of Shepard Medical Products. “But when you’re wearing a glove all day long, you want to wear a glove that’s loose fitting.”

Exam gloves are molded with the thumb straight up. And because your thumb isn’t naturally in that position, a too-tight glove can cause pressure and tension, creating thumb fatigue.

“The second problem with tight gloves is that they tear more easily because they’re under stress,” he said. “If you touch something that’s just the least bit sharp, it will penetrate the glove more easily.”

Live in or traveling to Atlanta, Chicago or Washington DC? Be sure to protect yourself from mosquitoes! The odds of being bitten by a mosquito in these three cities are the highest in America, says pest control expert Orkin. This week Orkin put out their Top 20 Mosquito Cities and Atlanta led the list for the second year in a row.

Mosquitos can cause much more damage than just an itchy bite. Orkin’s technical services director, Harrison, states “Their bites can cause allergic reactions and spread diseases, which means families need to take precautions against mosquitoes when outdoors in their own yards and around their communities, as well as when they travel. Besides being an itchy nuisance, mosquitoes can transmit diseases, including West Nile virus and encephalitis. Chikungunya, a new virus to the United States that was first found in the Americas on an island in the Caribbean in 2013, is also spread by mosquitoes”.

Are you at risk for West Nile virus?

Almost 40,000 people in the U.S. have been reported with West Nile virus disease since 1999, and of those over 17,000 have been seriously ill and more than 1600 have died. Many more cases of illness are not reported to CDC.
Anyone living in an area where West Nile virus is present in mosquitoes can get infected. West Nile virus has been detected in all lower 48 states (not in Hawaii or Alaska) and outbreaks have occurred every summer since 1999.

How to protect yourself from West Nile Virus and other mosquito transmitted diseases:

• No one is safe from any mosquito transmitted infectious diseases, but there are steps you can take to help prevent these diseases.
• Apply insect repellent on exposed skin and clothing when you go outdoors. Use an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-registered insect repellent. Permethrin sprayed on clothing provides protection through several washes. Don’t spray repellent on skin under clothing and don’t use permethrin on skin.
• Cover up! Wear long sleeve shirts and long pants and socks while outdoors to prevent mosquito bites.
• Avoid mosquitoes as much as possible. Limit the amount of time you spend outdoors between dusk and dawn. During these times mosquitoes that spread West Nile virus bite most frequently.
• Support your local community mosquito control programs. Mosquito control activities are most often handled at the local level, such as through county or city government. The type of mosquito control methods used by a program depends on the time of year, the type of mosquitoes to be controlled, and the habitats where the mosquitoes live. Methods can include eliminating mosquito larval habitats, applying insecticides to kill mosquito larvae, or spraying insecticides from trucks or aircraft to kill adult mosquitoes. Your local mosquito control program can provide information about the type of products being used in your area. Check with your local health department for more information.

What insect repellent to use:

The CDC recommends a variety of safe and effective mosquito repellents. Look for these active ingredients recommended by CDC and EPA:

•  DEET
• Picaridin
• IR3535
• Plant-based oil of lemon eucalyptus

Pick your favorite insect repellent and use it whenever you go outside!
Stay safe this Memorial Day weekend! If you have questions on how to protect yourself from mosquitos and infectious diseases tweet us @ShepardMedical.

With summer right around the corner Lyme Disease cases are sure to rise. Learn how to protect yourself and pets from this tick transmitted disease.

What is Lyme Disease?

Lyme disease is an infection that is transmitted by ticks. Ticks that have been infected with a bacterium called Borrelia burgdorferi can transmit Lyme Disease to humans and pets. Ticks typically get the bacterium by biting infected animals, like deer and mice. Although most people who get tick bites do not get Lyme disease it is a disease that can be very serious if not treated promptly.  The risk for contracting the disease increases the longer the tick is attached to the body.

Where is it prevalent?

Lyme Disease can be found predominantly in the upper east coast , upper midwest, northern California and the Oregon coast. The disease is slowly spreading inland most likely due to bird and deer migration.

To determine if you could be at risk for lyme Disease you should assess whether deer ticks are active in your area. The population density and percentage of infected ticks that may transmit Lyme Disease vary greatly from one region to another. There is an even great variation from county to county within a state and from area to area within a county. For example, less than 5% of adult ticks south of Maryland are infected with Borrelia burgdorferi, while up to 50% are infected in tick infested areas in the northeast. The tick infection rate in Pacific coastal states is between 2% and 4%.

The prevalence of Lyme Disease in the northeast and upper mid-west is due to the presence of large numbers of the deer tick’s preferred hosts – white-footed mice and deer – and their proximity to humans. White-footed mice serve as the principal “reservoirs of infection” on which many larval and juvenile ticks feed and become infected with the Lyme Disease spirochete. An infected tick can then transmit infection the next time it feeds on another host, such as a human or pet.

How can I protect myself from Lyme Disease?

There is currenly no vaccine for Lyme Disease. Vaccines were formerly on the market but have not been commercially available since 2002. Further studies of Lyme Disease vaccines are needed.

To best protect yourself avoid tick-infested areas. Lyme disease is transmitted by ticks attaching to the body so it is important to use tick-bite protection techniques when visiting known tick-infested areas. Using spray insect repellant containing DEET onto exposed skin can deter ticks. Wear long pants tucked into boots and long sleeves to protect the skin. Clothing, children, and pets should be examined for ticks periodically while outdoors and then thourougly once returning home. Ticks can be removed gently with tweezers and saved in a jar for later identification if needed. Once returning home bathe the skin and scalp and wash clothing.

What are the symptoms of Lyme Disease?

The first symptom is usually an expanding rash (called erythema migrans, or EM, in medical terms) which is thought to occur in up to 90% of all Lyme Disease cases. An EM rash generally has the following characteristics:

• Usually (but not always) radiates from the site of the tickbite
• Appears either as a solid red expanding rash or blotch, or a central spot surrounded by clear skin that is in turn ringed by an expanding red rash (looks like a bull’s-eye)
• Appears an average of 1 to 2 weeks (range = 3 to 30 days) after disease transmission
• Has an average diameter of 5 to 6 inches
• (range = 2 inches to 2 feet)
• Persists for about 3 to 5 weeks
• May or may not be warm to the touch
• Is usually not painful or itchy

Around the time the rash appears, other symptoms such as joint pains, chills, fever, and fatigue are common. These symptoms may be brief, only to recur as a broader spectrum of symptoms as the disease progresses.

As the Lyme Disease spirochete continues spreading through the body, a number of other symptoms including severe fatigue, a stiff, aching neck, and peripheral nervous system involvement such as tingling or numbness in the extremities or facial paralysis can occur.

The more severe, potentially debilitating symptoms of later-stage Lyme Disease may occur weeks, months, or, in a few cases, years after a tick bite. These can include severe headaches, painful arthritis and swelling of joints, cardiac abnormalities, and central nervous system involvement leading to mental disorders.

How is Lyme Disease treated?

Most Lyme disease is curable with antibiotics, particularly when the infection is diagnosed and treated early.  Later stages might require longer-term, intravenous antibiotics.

Be sure to protect yourself  and cover up this summer! For more information visit our Pinterest Lyme Disease board where we will be pinning Lyme Disease information all summer long at https://www.pinterest.com/shepardmedicals/lyme-disease/ or tweet your questions to us @ShepardMedical.

The latest tuberculosis outbreak happened on April 10th in Jackson, Mississippi. Health officials report that a Peco Plant employee was diagnosed with TB, but tell us the person is not at work. They said there is not a public health risk from this case. Unlike this single outbreak, the recent outbreaks at schools in California and Kansas exposed hundreds of children and adults to a potentially fatal bacterial infection. These numerous cases that continuously pop up demonstrate that tuberculosis continues to pose a grave threat to the public’s health.

What is Tuberculosis?

Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The bacteria usually attacks the lungs, but TB bacteria can attack any part of the body such as the kidney, spine, and brain. If not treated properly, TB disease can be fatal.

How do you get Tuberculosis?

TB is spread through the air from one person to another. The TB bacteria are put into the air when a person with TB disease of the lungs or throat coughs, sneezes, speaks, or sings. People nearby may breathe in these bacteria and become infected. TB is not spread by shaking someones hand, sharing toothbrushes, sharing food or drink, or touching bed linens or toilet seats.

What are the symptoms of Tuberculosis?

A person who has tuberculosis could experience any or all of the following: a bad cough that lasts three weeks or longer, pain in the chest, weakness or fatigue, coughing up blood or sputum, weight loss, loss of appetite, chills, fever and night sweats.

How do I protect myself from Tuberculosis?

Inhaling TB bacteria does not immediately lead to serious illness. The human immune system usually surrounds and seals off the invading germs, preventing them from attacking the rest of the body. An infected person can host TB like this for years or even decades, exhibiting no outward symptoms.

If you test positive for latent TB infection, your doctor may advise you to take medications to reduce your risk of developing active tuberculosis. The only type of tuberculosis that is contagious is the active variety, when it affects the lungs. So if you can prevent your latent tuberculosis from becoming active, you won’t transmit tuberculosis to anyone else.

Protect your family and friends:

If you have active TB, keep your germs to yourself. It generally takes a few weeks of treatment with TB medications before you’re not contagious anymore. Follow these tips to help keep your friends and family from getting sick:

• Stay home. Don’t go to work or school or sleep in a room with other people during the first few weeks of treatment for active tuberculosis.
• Ventilate the room. Tuberculosis germs spread more easily in small closed spaces where air doesn’t move. If it’s not too cold outdoors, open the windows and use a fan to blow indoor air outside.
• Cover your mouth. Use a tissue to cover your mouth anytime you laugh, sneeze or cough. Put the dirty tissue in a bag, seal it and throw it away.
• Wear a mask. Wearing a surgical mask when you’re around other people during the first three weeks of treatment may help lessen the risk of transmission.

Finish your entire course of medication

This is the most important step you can take to protect yourself and others from tuberculosis. When you stop treatment early or skip doses, TB bacteria have a chance to develop mutations that allow them to survive the most potent TB drugs. The resulting drug-resistant strains are much more deadly and difficult to treat.

Vaccinations

In countries where tuberculosis is more common, infants often are vaccinated with bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine because it can prevent severe tuberculosis in children. The BCG vaccine isn’t recommended for general use in the United States because it isn’t very effective in adults. Dozens of new TB vaccines are in various stages of development and testing.

In 2014, there were slightly more than 9,400 TB cases in the United States, a rate of three cases per 100,000 people. That’s about 2 percent lower than the TB rate in 2013, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

However, “This decline in the rate of TB was the smallest decrease in more than a decade and suggests the need for ongoing evaluation of TB elimination strategies overall and within high-risk populations,” the CDC researchers wrote.

According to the CDC, tuberculosis is more common in certain groups, particularly foreign-born people, who have a TB rate 13 times higher than those born in the United States. Compared to whites, the TB rate is 29 times higher among Asians and eight times higher among blacks and Hispanics.

Despite the increased risk among certain groups of people, anyone can get TB. Exposure to the disease can occur in any location where people are in close contact with each other.

As always, stay up to date with the current health conditions and always look up travel destinations up to 4 weeks before travel to prepare.

For more information on Tuberculosis visit the CDC’s website http://www.cdc.gov/tb/default.htm or tweet us a question @ShepardMedical.