Tuberculosis is indeed a potentially terminal illness transmitted through the air and affecting the lungs. The aerosol transmission makes it difficult to control this disease since it is hard to detect all the people who have had contact with a sick person. Furthermore, the detection of this illness is complicated by its disposition to not showing any symptoms until the immune system weakens. Due to an easy way of spreading and the gravity of the consequences, it is necessary to prevent the dissemination of tuberculosis.
It is true that a healthy diet and regular physical exercise may decrease the risk of contracting tuberculosis. However, it is a standard recommendation for preventing many diseases since it maintains the immune system in good condition. If healthy people contact a tuberculosis patient without respiratory protection, they risk becoming infected with the disease and develop latent tuberculosis infection. For this reason, people should be regularly tested for this illness. The state and local governments may engage pharmacists in this process since they are closer to the population than the medical staff in clinics (Glaze & Rowe, 2015). Pharmacists may perform tuberculin skin tests, check their results, and educate people about the actions necessary to prevent contracting tuberculosis.
Restricting tuberculosis patients from attending crowded places is also a reasonable measure. It is necessary to explain to such patients that their interaction with a large number of people may lead to the uncontrolled spread of the disease and cause an outbreak. For this reason, tuberculosis patients are also hindered from traveling using the Do Not Board list (DNB) (Jeffries, Lobue, Chorba, Metchock, & Kashef, 2017). People on this list are not allowed to board a plane either leaving the USA or coming to the country.
Finally, it is the right point that promoting knowledge about tuberculosis is the most effective way of preventing the disease. If people are aware of the gravity of the threat that tuberculosis poses to health, they will make sure to report the suspected illness to the medical staff. This knowledge will also encourage them to undergo a medical examination regularly, which will help healthcare professionals to detect tuberculosis at an early stage.
After being infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria, a person may not develop active tuberculosis. Instead, the bacteria will remain viable in their lungs, and the active stage of disease “will develop in 5 to 15% of persons with latent infection during their lifetimes” (Getahun, Matteelli, Chaisson, & Raviglione, 2015, p. 2127). It means that a large segment of the infected population serves as “the ‘seedbeds’ of tuberculosis in the community” (Getahun et al., 2015, p. 2127). Thus, it is essential to prevent the further spread of the disease and avoid developing tuberculosis in the bacteria carriers.
The speaker described the process of getting latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) in detail. However, it is also necessary to mention that it cannot be diagnosed directly. Therefore, it is detected “by the response to in vivo or in vitro stimulation by M. tuberculosis antigens,” which is the tuberculin skin test and IGRAs (Getahun et al., 2015, p. 2127). Consequently, people should be encouraged to undergo these tests to detect LTBI and prevent the development of active tuberculosis.
It is true that poor and homeless people, as well as substance abusers, are the segments of the population most liable to tuberculosis. It results from their inability to afford balanced nutrition, proper sanitary conditions, and other things necessary for strengthening the immune system. Prisoners usually come from these social groups, so it is logical that they are subject to tuberculosis. The speaker suggested a possible but lengthy way of preventing the spread of tuberculosis in prisons. The state and local governments should modify jails so that they have improved ventilation, more space per person, and protective equipment for the staff (Kamarulzaman et al., 2016). If there is a risk of an outbreak, it is better to test the population as quickly as possible to prevent the further transmission of the infection.
References
Getahun, H., Matteelli, A., Chaisson, R. E., & Raviglione, M. (2015). Latent Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. The New England Journal of Medicine, 372(22), 2127-2135.
Glaze, L. E., & Rowe, S. L. (2015). Pharmacists’ role in tuberculosis: Prevention, screening, and treatment. Journal of the American Pharmacists Association, 55(2), 118–120.
Jeffries, C., Lobue, P., Chorba, T., Metchock, B., & Kashef, I. (2017). Role of the health department in tuberculosis prevention and control—legal and public health considerations. Microbiology Spectrum, 5(2), 1-22.
Kamarulzaman, A., Reid, S. E., Schwitters, A., Wiessing, L., El-Bassel, N., Dolan, K., … Altice, F. L. (2016). Prevention of transmission of HIV, hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, and tuberculosis in prisoners. The Lancet, 388(10049), 1115-1126.