I work closely with 3 men that have each caught TB at separate occasions over the past 4 years. What are my chances of contracting the disease? I currently have a cold but have no fever or fatigue and am not coughing up anything more than Phlemb. I have had persistent coughs before but they appear to have been caused by a constant pre-nasal drip. How contageous is TB?
Infectious Diseases - 6 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
Ever heard of a guy on the news that had TB but demanded to get on a plane to America but authorities didn't want him to?? That ticked off and scared all the passengers on the plane. It's that contagious very easily.
2 :
it is very contagious, but most people get their shots and are immune. I still cant believe that one guy that got on a plane knowing full well he was infected with a rare form of TB and it is contagious! how selfish can one be? they ought-ta charge him up with attempted murder.
3 :
TB is airbourne. You cn get just by somone constantly breathing on you. Be careful.
4 :
TB is very contageous but there are multiple factors involved in the spread of the infection. You can only catch TB from active patients (in other words someone who has the bacteria in the sputum) by inhaling the bacteria when they caugh around you. The literature suggests that you need between 300 - 500 hours of close contact with someone sick. The symptoms include susbstantial loss of wieght, night sweat, night fever, blood in the sputum, fatigue. What you have sounds more like a sinus problem but I am not a doctor.... :), you might need that to get checked but it is not a TB.
5 :
The TB germ is usually spread in the air. You catch it from another person who has TB of the lungs. The germ gets into the air when that person coughs, sneezes or spits. But only some people with TB in the lungs are infectious to other people. Even then, you need close and prolonged contact with them to be at risk of being infected. Even infectious cases stop being infectious after a couple of weeks of treatment. Evil Female you are a very rude person.
6 :
TB is spread through the air by respiratory droplets that an infected person coughs or sneezes out. It is very contagious and easily spread amongst people in close contact/quarters. I am left wondering if the men that you are speaking of have actually had active tuberculosis, or if they have simply tested positive on the skin test. The skin test, when you test positive, doesn't mean that you have active TB, or that you've ever had active TB, but that you have been exposed to TB. People that have an positive skin test are then given chest x-rays and asked a series of questions to determine if they have the TB bacteria. If someone has a positive skin test, their chances of ever developing active TB secondary to their prior exposure is about 10%. There are antibiotics that people with positive skin tests can take, Isoniazid, for a period of 9 months. If someone chooses to do this, their chances of developing TB are around 1%. I am leaning toward those men having a positive skin test. TB, although not completely absent in the US, is pretty much eradicated. Either way, I would ask them about the skin test.
7 :
TB / is air-borne / its in cough droplets / sneezing droplets / take and get checked / for it / good luck
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