Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (TB) is a disease caused by germs that are spread through the air from person to person which typically affects the lungs, but can also affect other parts of the body, such as the heart, brain, bone, spine, stomach kidneys and fallopian tubes. Often TB is not suspected until other more common conditions are treated without success.

Latent Tuberculosis Infection (LTBI) have TB bacteria in their body, but the germs are inactive and cannot be spread to someone else. However, if the germs become active, a person will become sick with TB disease.

Symptoms

Symptoms of TB disease depend on which portion of the body is affected. TB disease is typically found in the lungs and symptoms include:

• a bad cough that lasts 3 weeks or longer
• pain in the chest
• coughing up blood or sputum (phlegm from deep inside the lungs)

Other symptoms include:

• weakness or fatigue
• weight loss
• no appetite
• chills
• fever
• sweating at night 

It is important to understand that many of these symptoms may also be present in a variety of other medical conditions. Not everyone infected with TB bacteria gets sick. People who have LTBI don’t have symptoms and cannot spread TB to others.

Services

The TB Program helps health care providers and patients defeat TB by providing a broad range of services to the people of Orange County and surrounding counties as needed including:

• case management
• complete diagnosis and treatment of TB and LTBI
• thorough contact investigation with testing of everyone exposed
• surveillance (active observation TB client activities)
• direct observed therapy monitoring (medication intake among patients with TB)
• education and information services for clients and families

Risk Factors

TB is spread through the air. It is not spread through handshakes, sitting on toilet seats, or sharing dishes and utensils. However, people with certain health conditions are at risk. These include:

• people who became infected with TB bacteria in the last 2 years
• people who are sick with other diseases that weaken the immune system
  • people with HIV infection
  • babies and young children
  • people who inject illegal drugs
  • elderly people
• People who were not treated correctly for TB in the past

If you have LTBI and you have any of these risk factors you need to seek treatment from a health care provider to help you decide which treatment is best for you.

Prevention

A person with TB can die if they do not get treatment. To help stop the spread of TB, please:

• see your health care provider for regular check-ups
• take all of your medicine until finished, even if you are feeling better and no longer have symptoms
• report any side effects right away (loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, yellowish skin or eyes, fever for more than three days, abdominal pain, tingling in the fingers and toes)
• abstain from drinking alcohol until medication is complete or doctor has cleared you
• wear a surgical mask
• always cover your mouth with a tissue when you cough, sneeze, or laugh; place the tissue in a closed bag and throw it away
• stay home if you are sick
• separate yourself from others and avoid close contact with anyone; sleep in a bedroom away from other family members
• air out your room often, as TB spreads in small closed spaces where the air does not circulate.
• put a fan in your window to blow out air that may be filled with TB bacteria
• if you are sick enough, go to the hospital so you can be separated from others- reducing their chance to get TB

Clinic hours

• Monday — Friday 8 a.m.– 5:00 p.m.
• Monday — Thursday, the last patient will be seen at 3:30 p.m.
• Friday — the last patient will be seen at 11 a.m.
• Saturday — Closed
• Sunday — Closed

Eligibility

Eligibility for TB patients is provided through the TB Clinic during a patient’s appointment. For more information call 407-858-1446.

Resources

• American Lung Association of Florida
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Florida Department of Health