The appearance of anti-tuberculosis medication changed the course of the disease. 36 course in social and community health despite the progress made, the characteristics of tuberculosis make it an extremely complex disease. It is now one of the most important diseases with serious implications for current and future public health.

When should we think about tuberculosis? Tuberculosis is produced by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, a bacterium that is transmitted by air, when talking, coughing or sneezing, only about 10% of infected people will develop the disease.

The risk of developing tuberculosis once the infection

Among those who develop it, half will do so within a few months of infection, while the other 50 % will need a long interval, which can be several decades. 85% of cases will have pulmonary tuberculosis, the rest can develop the disease in other organs, such as pleura, ganglia, genitals and others, these cases are called extrapulmonary tuberculosis. The risk of developing tuberculosis once the infection occurs is determined by the integrity of the cellular immune system, therefore, conditions that generate a transient or permanent decrease of the same facilitate the development of the disease.

Among the most important conditions are malnutrition, age (children under 2 years and adults over 60 years), association with VIH, and some other medical conditions that affect the immune status. It is suspected that a person has pulmonary tuberculosis when presented with some of the following symptoms: Cough and expectoration for more than 15 days Coughing up blood (hemóptisis), with or without chest pain and difficulty breathing, Loss of weight or appetite, fever, night sweat, decay symptoms more frequent and of greater importance to identify patients with tuberculosis are cough and expectoration for more than 15 days, which define Symptomatic Respiratory.

Children usually do not get infected

In Argentina, 4 out of every 100 people who consult for respiratory symptoms have tuberculosis. Those people with severe cough (with positive bacilloscopies) who are not in treatment or have less than 15 days since it started are the ones who have the greatest risk of contagion to other individuals. Children usually do not get infected: their cough is weaker and they have less sputum production (phlegm). 37 some complex health problems the risk of infection is also influenced by proximity, exposure time (at least 4 hours a day), overcrowded conditions and poor ventilation of living or working environments.

Activity A. in your usual task in the health team ,are there any preventive actions regarding tuberculosis? Have you ever received training on topics related to tuberculosis? If you received it: how did you use that information?

Who is more likely to get sick? While all people can get tuberculosis, some are more likely than others. Within this higher-risk group are those people who for some reason come in contact with carriers of the microbacter tuberculosis and living or working in poorly ventilated locations or in crowded conditions, those that have some type of deficit immune caused by poor nutrition, or some health problems that compromise immunity (diabetes, cancer, live with VI (H), also, those who are carrying out prolonged treatments with drugs (p. e.: corticosteroids) or other type (p. e.: dialysis) and alcoholics or drug addicts are also part of this group.

Simple diagnostic methods can determine

They also have a higher risk of getting sick people with respiratory problems, chronic coughers and those in contact with people with tuberculosis. At this point, we must not forget that we can find people with cough and sputum who have not consulted for this reason and yet, may have developed tuberculosis. 38 course in social and Community Health remember the importance of studying those people who share several hours a day with the person sick with tuberculosis (contacts), especially when it comes to poorly ventilated environments.

Simple diagnostic methods can determine whether they require treatment, chemoprophylaxis (preventive treatment) or nothing.

These actions are part of epidemiological surveillance. Activity based on your experience working at the Health Center / Community Integration Center and the information you have: who do you suppose will be more likely to get sick in the community? Why? Persistence of tuberculosis as a public health problem several factors influence the persistence of tuberculosis as a serious and complex public health problem, namely: living conditions in some particularly vulnerable populations: overcrowding, poorly ventilated and humid housing, inadequate nutrition, risky work situations mine workers, clandestine workshops.

Is one of the biggest challenges to reduce the spread

The impact of the epidemic VI H / AIDS: 15% of new cases have TB / HIV co-infection. The interruption of the treatment, its adverse consequences on the evolution of the disease, constitutes one of the more complex cases, very difficult resolution, as it extends the possibilities of contagion, and the development of drug resistance and, therefore, is one of the biggest challenges to reduce the spread of the epidemic. Increasing resistance to antituberculous drugs (resistant drug Tuberculosis), is a serious problem for the control of tuberculosis worldwide, especially if we consider that its trend is increasing.

Some complex health problems over these causes settle.

The failure of tuberculosis control programmes, which often fail to detect patients early and cure cases, with the consequent persistence of communicability to the community. The number of tuberculosis cases increases as poverty rates and poor living conditions of affected populations increase. Malnutrition, overcrowding, alcoholism, drug addiction are some of the factors commonly present in cases that develop the disease.

Vulnerable populations face greater difficulties in accessing the health system, decent housing, education, communication, stable work, healthy eating, etc. People deprived of their liberty are often in conditions of overcrowding, malnutrition, lack of adequate medical care, addictions, co-morbidities, etc. National Tuberculosis Control Programme the National Tuberculosis Control Programme, supported by provincial and regional referents throughout the country;

The CONI Institute and other national institutions, is committed to supporting the WHO-led STOP TB (stop Tuberculosis) strategy, which includes directly observed or supervised treatment (ODT) among its lines of action and, in addition, the community participation strategy as a priority support tool for tackling and controlling tuberculosis in our country, through strengthening the early detection of cases and, fundamentally, the continuity of treatments.