Tuberculosis (TB)
This contagious disease kills over a million people worldwide every
year but very few in the United States due to the vigorous efforts of our
medical care system and the public health nurses who do the extensive follow-up
when a person does come down with this infection. When we get a report of
such illness we prepare ahead of time, before they are released from the
hospital, so that their family and close contacts can be tested too. It is as if
we were putting our arms around them and making sure that they get the proper
care and that the illness does not spread to other people around them. When we
do directly observed therapy it means that we actually go and watch a patient
take their medication daily so that the infection is controlled and cured.
Again, with such a serious disease, we use the help of the State TB Control
Program to make sure there are no financial barriers to getting care. This is
another quiet, confidential way that public health protects the community and
its residents.
