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For Immediate Release
Date: March 3, 2016
Contact: Leslie Piotrowski
(847) 377-8055
Carolyn Waller
(847) 377-8099
In
observance of World Tuberculosis (TB) Day on March 24, the Lake County Health
Department/Community Health Center is encouraging those who are in high-risk
groups or provide services to those in high-risk groups to be screened for
TB. You should ask your healthcare provider for a TB test if you are in
these high-risk groups:
- Those
who have had close contact with persons known or suspected of having TB
disease.
- Those
foreign born where TB has a high prevalence, such as countries in Asia, Africa,
Latin America, and Eastern Europe, or individuals who travel to those
areas.
- Residents
and employees of high-risk congregate settings, such as nursing homes,
mental health institutions, homeless shelters, alcohol and drug treatment
centers, and other long-term care facilities.
- Medically
under-served or low-income populations with risk factors.
- High-risk
racial or ethnic minorities, such as Asians, Pacific Islanders, Hispanics,
African Americans, Native Americans and migrant workers.
- Children
exposed to adults in high-risk groups.
- Persons
who inject illicit drugs.
- Those
recently infected with TB, or who have a history of inadequate TB
treatment.
- Those
who have HIV infection or another condition that suppresses the immune
system and therefore puts them at high risk for TB disease if exposed.
- Health
care workers who serve high-risk clients such as those mentioned above.
“While
people tend to forget about TB these days, it is still a worldwide epidemic
affecting more than 8 million people every year,” said Tony Beltran, the Health
Department’s Executive Director. “Cases of TB are diagnosed every year in
Lake County. We still need to be very vigilant about this disease on local and
international levels.”
If
you are in one or more of the high risk groups, it is important to get a TB
test. Most people in the high risk groups are unaware that they have been
infected, unless they get a TB test or develop symptoms of the active disease,
such as a cough lingering for longer than three weeks, night sweats, fever,
tires easily or weight loss.
The
average annual number of active and contagious TB cases in Lake County over the
past five years was 10. However, over 400 individuals were identified as
contacts, which are people who have been exposed to TB.
Contacts also
need to be tested to determine if they have the latent (dormant) infection that
could later develop into the active disease. In 2015, 193 Lake County residents
were newly diagnosed with latent TB infection (LTBI). Persons with latent TB
infection do not feel sick, do not have any symptoms and are not contagious.
One of the Health Department’s
strategic plan priorities is access to prevention and wellness. In line with
this plan, the Health Department’s TB Program provides a variety of services,
such as TB tests, X-rays, medications, physician evaluation and consultation,
health education and contact investigations. Such efforts help prevent the
transmission of tuberculosis into the community.
The
Health Department’s TB clinic is located at 515 Keller Avenue in
Waukegan. Operating hours are Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8 a.m. to
5 p.m., and Tuesdays and Thursday from 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Skin tests are
available Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays and must be read between 48
and 72 hours after administration. A patient who does not return within 72
hours will need to be rescheduled for another test.
Chest X-rays are available by appointment only. For more
information about TB services, visit: http://health.lakecountyil.gov/Population/Pages/Tuberculosis-Clinic.aspx, or call: (847) 377-8700.
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