Taking and Making TB Prevention Personal

Taking and Making TB Prevention Personal

Take Health in Your Hands

Take TB Prevention* Personal 1

Monday: Statistics

Tuesday: Testing

Wednesday: Treatment

Thursday: Adherence to Anti-TB medication taking

Friday: Ensuring a negative sputum

Saturday: Cough etiquette and cough consciousness

Sunday: Home hygiene, Home Hygiene, Personal cleanliness, and safety best practices

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Monday:

Statistics

According to WHO, pre COVID-19 days, the TB mortality rate (i.e., TB deaths among HIV-negative people per 100 000 population per year) is falling at about 3% per year, and the overall reduction in the period 2000–2017 was 42%. Worldwide, the TB incidence rate is falling at about 2% per year. The fastest regional declines from 2013 to 2017 were in the WHO European Region and the WHO African Region. In the same 5 years, particularly impressive reductions (4–8% per year) occurred in southern Africa (e.g. Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe), following a peak in the HIV epidemic and the expansion of TB and HIV prevention and care; and in the Russian Federation (5% per year), following intensified efforts to reduce the burden of TB and scrutiny of progress from the highest political levels. But COVID-19 is threatening to reverse all these achievements.

 

Tuesday:

Testing

Testing for TB is important. It is equally important to know what TB is. According to CDC, Tuberculosis (TB) is a disease caused by germs that are spread from person to person through the air. TB usually affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body, such as the brain, the kidneys, or the spine. A person with TB can die if they do not get treatment. There are two types of tests for TB infection: the TB skin test and the TB blood test. A person’s health care provider should choose which TB test to use. Factors in selecting which test to use include the reason for testing, test availability, and cost. Generally, it is not recommended to test a person with both a TB skin test and a TB blood test. There are other tests which can diagnose TB. There are also

tests to find out if someone has TB bacteria that are susceptible to TB drug treatment. If the bacteria are susceptible to treatment, it means that the treatment should work. The opposite of being susceptible to treatment is being drug resistant. A TB test to find out if someone has drug resistant TB is known as a drug susceptibility test. Smear microscopy of sputum is often the first test to be used in countries with

a high rate of TB infection. Sputum is a thick fluid that is produced in the lungs and the airways leading to the lungs. A sample of sputum is usually collected by the person coughing. There is no single test that can be used to test for TB in all circumstances. Some tests are cheap but not very accurate. Some can only be used to test for TB and cannot test for drug resistance. Others such as the TB culture test, the new Genexpert TB test and the TrueNat test can be used to diagnose TB and they can also test for some types of TB drug resistance.

 

Wednesday:

Treatment

Treatment for TB is important. According to CDC, not everyone infected with TB bacteria becomes sick. As a result, two TB-related conditions exist: latent TB infection and TB disease. Both latent TB infection and TB disease can be treated. Without treatment latent TB infection can progress to TB disease. If not treated properly, TB disease can be fatal. It is important to make plans and then deciding when to Treat Latent TB. For active tuberculosis, you must take antibiotics for at least six to nine months. The exact drugs and length of treatment depend on your age, overall health, possible drug resistance and the infection's location in the body. There are common TB drugs but If you have latent tuberculosis, you may need to take only one or two types of TB drug.

 

Thursday:

Adherence to Anti-TB medication Taking

Adherence to Anti-TB medication is important. If you have become infected with TB, but do not have the active TB disease you should get preventive therapy. This treatment kills germs that could cause problems if the disease becomes active. The most common preventive therapy is a daily dose of the antibiotic isoniazid (INH) taken as a single daily pill for six to nine months. You are not contagious if you have latent TB. You must finish your medicine and take the drugs exactly as prescribed. If you stop taking the drugs too soon you can become sick again and potentially spread the disease to others. Additionally, by taking the drugs incorrectly, TB germs that are still alive may become drug-resistant, making it harder for you to get better next time. While you are in treatment for active TB disease, you will need regular checkups to make sure your treatment is working. Everyone is different, but there are side effects associated with taking the medications, including:

Higher notice and sense of smell awareness

Sweat that smells of medication

Upset stomach, nausea and vomiting or loss of appetite

Tingling or numbness in the hands or feet

Itchy skin, rashes or bruising

Changes in your eyesight or blurred visions

Yellowish skin or eyes

Dark-coloured urine

Weakness, fatigue or fever that for three or more days

 

Home remedies:

Ø Set a time for doing work outs or walk about

Ø Get your bedding out in the sun, wash all bedsheets and

pyjamas regularly

Ø Get a bucket or trough with added ash or diluted detergent

into which you spit when you cough. This ensures your spittle is one place to avoid droplets that may be infectious

Ø Clean the room with detergent, open all windows while cleaning

Ø Sleep under a mosquito net

Ø When not sleeping get a favoured corner outside of your

house to sit and take in air. As much as possible put on a mask

Ø Join a support group: WhatsApp support group, Facebook or

part of the Community TB Prevention Clubs. It is recommended that patients and

caregivers join support communities to connect with others facing this disease.

Ø Celebrate every day you take your medication 

Friday:

Ensuring A Negative Sputum

It is important to ensure negative sputum. It is possible when you do six things: if you are smoking, quit smoking; take your medication diligently; wear a mask;clean/sanitise your living area; ensure your home is a clean-air compliant home; and attend your medical checkup appointments.

 

Saturday:

Cough Etiquette and Cough Consciousness (Respiratory

Hygiene)

There is what is known as Cough Etiquette and Cough Consciousness. When you are coughing please cover your mouth; use tissues and sanitise your hands or elbow every after a cough. One of the most important things when dealing with cough is to determine if an acute or more serious disease is the cause. A vast majority of acute cough cases are mild upper respiratory tract infections such as common cold, and will go away on their own. The next thing to note that coughing is very common. Most of us have and will have episodes of lingering cough through our lives. But it can also be a symptom of many different medical conditions. It is important to take note of the duration, type and features of your cough as well as any other symptoms of illness. Chronic cough is a persistent cough that lasts eight weeks or longer. While cough is a symptom of many lung diseases as well as some non-lung conditions, chronic cough often last much longer and continues despite treatment of any other condition.

 

Sunday:

Home Hygiene, Personal cleanliness and safety best practices

It is important to clean your bed, bedsheets and all clothing. Clean your premises regularly to reduce instances of re-infection. Having a cough or TB does not stop you from participating in forms of recreation. Get out of the house and breathe in fresher air while outdoors. Remember, take your medication fully. Persons with TB and Anti-TB Champion are encouraged to engage in the following activities. The aim is to keep their personal space or area and by extension your hands clean:

Cough and deposit spittle in a designated trough

with strong detergents or ash at the bottom

Do not spit everywhere

Protect your mouth when you cough

Protect your nose when you blow them

Move with masks

Move with wipes

Wipe your shoes, sandals and slippers

Wash and dry all the mops you use

Clean all your utensils and dry them on a rack

Wash every after using the latrine, toilet or

convenience room

Your room and all exposed surfaces must be mopped

with detergents

Use hand sanitizer as you enter and exit places

Wipe down doors jabs, bag handles and surfaces you

touch with a disinfectant wipe

Clean your bed-pan, spittle containers and basins

with strong detergent solution

Put your bedding out in the sun once every week

Clean your house and take everything out in the sun

regularly

Travel with your own pen and note pad. Use your own

pen to sign receipts and any touch keypads.

When you get home wash your hands with soap and

water for 20 seconds and clean whatever you touch

* This material was developed based on frequently

asked questions between August 2019-April 2020: What is TB (1,256); What is

the difference between latent and infectious TB (3,200); What TB tests are available (4,200); Who catches TB (6,300); Why does TB kill more people (8,000); How many are killed by TB (8,700) ; Why bother about TB (15,000).

* Sources: As much as possible we use WHO, CDC, MoH guidelines; International

Lung Diseases Journals; TB Partnership materials, WB, GF, PEPFAR and other

credible sources such as Harvard, MIT, UCSF, Leeds, Oxford, Mumbai... We are conscientious and diligent when it comes to sources and credibility.