Tuberculosis???!
Question: Tuberculosis!?!?!?
do people from countries with high TB rates have natural immunity from the disease so that it does't have as much chance of affecting them!?
idk im sorta confused about it!.!.!.im from india so when i took the skin test it said that i have it but it's "inactive"!.!.!.what does that mean exactly!?Www@Answer-Health@Com
idk im sorta confused about it!.!.!.im from india so when i took the skin test it said that i have it but it's "inactive"!.!.!.what does that mean exactly!?Www@Answer-Health@Com
Answers:
There's no immunity to TB!. A positive skin test means that you are infected with tuberculosis bacteria, but you don't have the disease unless there are signs/sympmtoms!.
The infection may get reactivated at some point in your life, but the risks aren't that high!. The life-time risk of active TB disease after infection is only 10%!. If you were infected more than five years ago, your risk of ever getting the disease is only 5% (unless you are immunocompromised due to AIDS, organ transplant, etc!. or undergo anti-TNF therapy for rheumatoid arthritis)!.
One third of the world population are infected with TB, and most of them will live normal lives, so don't worry!
At this point, you may be offered a six-month treatment with isoniazid to clear the infection!.Www@Answer-Health@Com
The infection may get reactivated at some point in your life, but the risks aren't that high!. The life-time risk of active TB disease after infection is only 10%!. If you were infected more than five years ago, your risk of ever getting the disease is only 5% (unless you are immunocompromised due to AIDS, organ transplant, etc!. or undergo anti-TNF therapy for rheumatoid arthritis)!.
One third of the world population are infected with TB, and most of them will live normal lives, so don't worry!
At this point, you may be offered a six-month treatment with isoniazid to clear the infection!.Www@Answer-Health@Com
Most people in tropical countries get exposed to the TB bacteria during childhood and develop an resistance so that they will not get the disease!. Very rarely in a person who has developed resistance, as a result of previous infection a sudden, severe infection can occur when he/she is suffering from a disease like HIV(AIDS)!., which reduces your resistance!.
In the test which is done to test your resistance , called the Mantoux test ,a local reaction occurs ,at the site of the test and this shows that you had got a mild infection during , (probably )childhood and that you have got resistance as a result!.
That was what was meant by 'inactive!.'
To put it more simply as a child, through the air you were breathing,with the dust, some TB germs could have entered your lungs!. That amount was insufficient to cause disease in you, but was sufficient to cause resistance in you so that you would not get the disease later!.Www@Answer-Health@Com
In the test which is done to test your resistance , called the Mantoux test ,a local reaction occurs ,at the site of the test and this shows that you had got a mild infection during , (probably )childhood and that you have got resistance as a result!.
That was what was meant by 'inactive!.'
To put it more simply as a child, through the air you were breathing,with the dust, some TB germs could have entered your lungs!. That amount was insufficient to cause disease in you, but was sufficient to cause resistance in you so that you would not get the disease later!.Www@Answer-Health@Com