Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Last update: 2023-06-23
Key facts
- Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by bacteria (Mycobacterium tuberculosis)
- TB most often affects the lungs.
- Tuberculosis is both curable and preventable.
Transmission
- TB is spread from person to person through the air.
- When people with lung TB cough, sneeze or spit, they propel the TB germs into the air. A person needs to inhale only a few of these germs to become infected.
Most vulnerable to severe consequences
- People living with HIV or suffering from other conditions that decrease people’s immune defences, such as diabetes, are especially vulnerable.
- Children are vulnerable because of their weaker immune systems.
Most vulnerable to contracting the disease
- Tuberculosis mostly affects adults. However, all age groups are at risk.
- People living in crowded and poorly ventilated spaces where there are people with infectious TB. These can include prisoners, migrants and socially marginalized people.
- People who are infected with HIV are 18 times more likely to develop active TB.
- People with undernutrition are 3 times more at risk.
- Alcohol use disorder and tobacco smoking increase the risk of TB.
Symptoms
- Cough with sputum and blood at times
- Chest pains
- Weakness
- Weight loss
- Fever
- Night sweats
What can you do to prevent and control an epidemic?
Prevention and control
- Community awareness and identifying people suspected to have TB
- Inform communities on main symptoms of TB
- Identify people with TB symptoms in the community
- Promote basic precautionary measures for infection control and social distance advice at family and community levels
Treatment and management
- Identify and refer symptomatic cases to health facilities.
- Provide psychosocial support to those under treatment and their family members.
- Support people with TB in your community to adhere to treatment. That is, to take medication according to the recommendations of a health care provider. Adherence is important for people with TB to get better, to control the spread of infection, and to minimize drug resistance.
Social mobilization and health education / promotion
- Priority health education target groups are at risk groups and those who are sick with TB and their families.
- Stigma against TB and TB/HIV should be strongly addressed
Mapping and community assessment
- Make a map of the community.
- Mark the following information on the map:
- How many people identified with TB symptoms? Where?
- How many people have been referred to health services?
- Who and where are the vulnerable people?
- Where are the local health facilities and services?
- Where do people obtain their medication?
- Record the following information on the back of the map:
- When did people start to observe TB symptoms?
- How many people live in the affected community? How many are children under five years?
- Are there people in the area living with HIV?
- What are the community’s knowledge, practices and beliefs about TB and TB-HIV coinfection?
- Amongst those people with TB, what are the knowledge, concerns and beliefs about TB treatment?
- Is a social mobilization or health promotion programme in place?
- Are TB treatment services accessible?
- Which sources do people use/trust the most for information?
- Are there rumours or misinformation about TB
- What are the rumours?
Volunteer actions
01. Community-based surveillance
02. Community mapping
03. Communicating with the community
04. Community referral to health facilities
05. Volunteer protection and safety
14. Infant and young child feeding in emergencies
15. Measuring acute malnutrition in emergencies
19. Psychosocial support
27. Shelter and ventilation
43. Social mobilization and behaviour change