China News Service, Shanghai, March 23 (Chen Jing and Qu Naiying) The 29th "World Tuberculosis Prevention Day" is approaching. Chief physician Chen Jing, director of the Tuberculosis Prevention and Control Department of the Institute of Tuberculosis and AIDS Prevention and Control of the Shanghai Center for Disease Control and Prevention, introduced to reporters on the 23rd , not everyone will develop tuberculosis after being infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The probability of developing tuberculosis in a person infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis in their lifetime is about 10%. Whether or not they develop tuberculosis depends on the virulence, quantity and body resistance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
She pointed out that, therefore, vaccination and developing good daily routine and personal hygiene habits play a vital role in preventing infection and disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
Experts conduct popular science. (Photo courtesy of Shanghai Health Promotion Center)
Chief physician Chen Jing introduced that tuberculosis is a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex that is common to humans, livestock and poultry. Tuberculosis can occur in many organs and systems of the human body, such as pulmonary tuberculosis, tuberculous meningitis, bone tuberculosis, intestinal tuberculosis, skin tuberculosis, etc. Among them, pulmonary tuberculosis is the most common, accounting for about 85%. Research data shows that one infectious pulmonary tuberculosis patient can infect 10-15 people with Mycobacterium tuberculosis within one year.
"Once infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, it is possible to develop active tuberculosis." Chen Jing said that if patients do not receive treatment in a timely and standardized manner, the patient may relapse or develop drug resistance, which will increase the difficulty of treatment, extend the infectious period, and endanger the family. and society. Therefore, once symptoms such as cough, sputum, blood in sputum, low-grade fever, night sweats, fatigue, loss of appetite, weight loss, etc. occur, especially those who have cough or sputum for more than 2 weeks or are accompanied by hemoptysis, they should seek medical treatment as soon as possible to prevent early disease. Active pulmonary tuberculosis is detected.
It is reported that at the "World Tuberculosis Day" Shanghai Health Lecture special event held simultaneously online and offline, Chief Physician Li Tao, Assistant Director of the Department of Infectious Diseases, Huashan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University, introduced that there are usually two types of people who are susceptible and highly susceptible to Mycobacterium tuberculosis. : One category is people who have had close contact with active pulmonary tuberculosis patients; the other category is people with low immunity, such as: AIDS patients/HIV infected patients, patients who use immunosuppressants for a long time, hemodialysis patients, silicosis patients, diabetics, alcoholics, malnourished and underweight people, etc.
It is understood that as the aging of China's population intensifies, tuberculosis prevention and control among the elderly has become one of the public health issues of social concern. Li Tao said: "The elderly have two characteristics in the onset and treatment of tuberculosis. From the statistical data, it takes about 2 months on average for the general population to start receiving treatment from the onset of the disease, while it takes 3 months for the elderly. This is mainly because Because the symptoms of tuberculosis are not typical for older people.”
The expert admitted that among the many symptoms of tuberculosis, fatigue, loss of appetite, weight loss, etc. often occur in the elderly, but they may not pay attention to them. Many elderly people have some underlying lung diseases, especially elderly men who may also suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, whose symptoms are easily confused with tuberculosis. In addition, there are drug interaction problems in the treatment of elderly patients with pulmonary tuberculosis. Chronic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes are common and frequently-occurring diseases in the elderly. The drugs used for these diseases may conflict with the drugs used to treat tuberculosis. For clinicians, it is necessary to more accurately grasp the dosage of medication for elderly patients with pulmonary tuberculosis, so as to achieve the therapeutic effect while reducing the resulting adverse reactions.
Chemical drugs are the most basic method of treating tuberculosis. Li Tao emphasized that the treatment of tuberculosis must follow the principles of "early, regular, full course, combination, and appropriate dosage" in order to achieve ideal treatment results. "During the treatment process, patients must take medication under the guidance of a tuberculosis specialist. Only regular medication can effectively kill Mycobacterium tuberculosis. If treatment is irregular or intermittent, drug resistance may easily develop and the cure rate will be significantly reduced. Common pulmonary tuberculosis The standard course of treatment is generally 6 months. As long as you insist on taking medication according to the doctor's requirements, more than 90% of patients can be cured." Li Tao reminded, "After taking anti-tuberculosis drugs for 1 month, the clinical symptoms are relieved or even disappear. Some patients will stop taking the drug on their own. In fact, although one month of treatment can improve symptoms and reduce the number of bacteria in the body, stopping the drug may cause the disease to relapse in a more severe form and increase the risk of drug resistance." ( over)