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How do people become infected with XDR-TB?

Eastern Cape Department of Health - Frequently Asked Questio...
People who are ill with pulmonary TB (i.e. TB of the lungs, the site most commonly affected) are often infectious and can spread the disease by coughing, or sneezing, or simply talking, as this propels TB bacteria into the air. A person needs only to breathe in a small number of these germs to become infected (although only a small proportion of people will become infected with TB disease).
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How can a person becoming infected with XDR-TB?

Eastern Cape Department of Health - Frequently Asked Questio...
The majority of healthy people with normal immunity may never become ill with TB, unless they are heavily exposed to infectious cases who are not treated or who have been on treatment for less than about one week. Even then, 90% of people infected with TB bacteria never develop TB disease. This applies to XDR-TB as well as to "ordinary" TB. People with HIV infection, however, in close contact with a TB patient, are more likely to catch TB and fall ill.
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What is XDR-TB?

Eastern Cape Department of Health - Frequently Asked Questio...
XDR-TB is the abbreviation for extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB). One in three people in the world is infected with dormant TB germs (i.e. TB bacteria). Only when the bacteria become active do people become ill with TB. Bacteria become active as a result of anything that can reduce the person's immunity, such as HIV, advancing age, or some medical conditions. TB can usually be treated with a course of four standard, or first-line, anti-TB drugs.
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How many people are co-infected with TB and HIV?

N2N : TB FAQ and Answers
estimated 33% of the 40 million people living with HIV/AIDS worldwide are co-infected with TB. Furthermore, without proper treatment, approximately 90% of people living with HIV/AIDS die within months of contracting TB. The majority of people who are co-infected with both diseases live in sub-Saharan Africa.
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How are people infected?

Avian Flu: Frequently Asked Questions - Shenyang, China
The main route of human infection is direct contact with infected poultry or surfaces and objects contaminated with their feces or blood. To date, most human cases have occurred in rural and periurban areas where households keep small poultry flocks that roam freely, often entering homes and sharing children's outdoor play areas. Large quantities of the virus are excreted in the feces of infected poultry.
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How do people become infected?

Bird Flu FAQ Bird Flu
Direct contact with infected poultry, or surfaces and objects contaminated by their faeces, is presently considered the main route of human infection. To date, most human cases have occurred in rural or periurban areas where many households keep small poultry flocks, which often roam freely, sometimes entering homes or sharing outdoor areas where children play.
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What is extensively drug resistant tuberculosis (XDR TB)?

Tuberculosis (TB) Treatment & Control Clinic - Southern ...
Extensively drug resistant TB (XDR TB) is a rare type of MDR TB. XDR TB is defined as TB that is resistant to isoniazid and rifampin, plus resistant to any fluoroquinolone and at least one of three injectable second-line drugs (i.e., amikacin, kanamycin or capreomycin). Because XDR TB is resistant to first-line and second-line drugs, patients are left with treatment options that are much less effective.
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Can XDR-TB be cured or treated?

Eastern Cape Department of Health - Frequently Asked Questio...
Yes, in some cases. Several countries with good TB control programmes have shown that cure is possible for up to 30% of affected people. But successful outcomes also depend greatly on the extent of the drug resistance, the severity of the disease and whether the patient's immune system is compromised.
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How quickly can XDR-TB be diagnosed?

Eastern Cape Department of Health - Frequently Asked Questio...
This depends on the patient's access to health-care services. If TB bacteria are found in the sputum, the diagnosis of TB can be made in a day or two, but this finding will not be able to distinguish between drug-susceptible and drug-resistant TB. To evaluate drug susceptibility, the bacteria need to be cultivated and tested in a suitable laboratory. Final diagnosis in this way for TB, and especially for XDR-TB, may take from 6 to 16 weeks.
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What is the difference between being infected with TB and having TB disease?

Tuberculosis: Frequently Asked Questions | Breathe Californi...
TB Infection (Latent TB) means that the bacteria are inside your body but they are not active. Typically, these people have strong immune systems and consequently, never have TB symptoms nor develop the disease. What's more, they do not pass the disease on to other people. People with TB infection usually have positive skin test reactions and can develop the active disease at any point if they do not receive preventative therapy.
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What is multidrug-resistant TB (MDR TB) and extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR TB)?

DTBE - Questions and Answers - Active TB Disease
Sometimes the TB bacteria are resistant to the medicines used to treat TB disease. This means that the medicine can no longer kill the bacteria. Multidrug-resistant TB, or MDR TB, is bacteria that are resistant to two or more of the most important TB medicines: INH and RIF. A more serious form of MDR TB is called extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR TB). XDR TB is a rare type of TB that is resistant to nearly all medicines used to treat TB disease.
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Can the TB vaccine, known as the BCG vaccine, prevent XDR-TB?

Eastern Cape Department of Health - Frequently Asked Questio...
The BCG vaccine prevents severe forms of TB in children, such as TB meningitis. It would be expected that BCG would have the same effect in preventing severe forms of TB in children, even if they were exposed to XDR-TB, but it may be less effective in preventing pulmonary TB in adults, the commonest and most infectious form of TB. The effect of BCG against XDR-TB would therefore likely be very limited.
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How can a person who already has 'ordinary' TB i.e drug-sensitive TB, avoid getting XDR-TB?

Eastern Cape Department of Health - Frequently Asked Questio...
The most important thing is for a patient to continue taking all their treatment exactly as prescribed. No doses should be missed, but this is especially important if the course of treatment is meant to be taken every other day: so-called "intermittent treatment". Above all, the treatment should be taken right through to the end.
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Can people become infected with avian influenza?

Although it is possible for people to become infected with avian influenza, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that the virus does not spread easily from animals to humans. There have been confirmed cases of human infection in Asia, but those occurred in association with virus outbreaks in poultry, usually among people who live and work in close quarters with the animals.
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Pandemic Flu | Brandeis University
Direct contact with infected poultry, or surfaces and objects contaminated by their feces, is considered the main route of human infection. Most human cases have occurred in rural areas where households keep small poultry flocks, which roam about freely, sometimes entering homes or sharing outdoor areas where children play.
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Is it safe to travel to places where XDR-TB has been identified?

Eastern Cape Department of Health - Frequently Asked Questio...
XDR-TB has been found in every region of the world, though it is still very rare. People who are at most risk, if they do come into contact with someone with XDR-TB, are those with reduced immunity to infectious diseases, such as those with HIV infection or other medical conditions that can weaken a person's immunity. It is also advised that such people should avoid high-risk areas where there are no infection control measures in place.
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If infected, who is most likely to develop active TB?

Public Health | Monroe County, NY
People whose resistance is low due to conditions such as HIV infection, diabetes, some cancers, and chemotherapy
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Can you get infected with TB from handling food?

City of Haverhill, Massachusetts
No. TB bacteria are spread from person to person through the air only. TB infection cannot be acquired by handling food or objects.
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How are people tested for TB?

Washington County -- Tuberculosis
A healthcare provider can offer you a TB skin test if you are considered to be at high risk for getting TB. If you have a positive reaction to the skin test, your doctor or nurse may do other tests to see if you have TB disease. These tests usually include a chest x-ray and a test of the phlegm you cough up. Because the TB bacteria may be found elsewhere besides the lungs, a doctor or nurse may check your blood or urine, or do other tests.
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Tuberculosis: Frequently Asked Questions | Breathe Californi...
The most common TB test is called the Mantoux Skin Test. During this test a liquid is injected just under the skin on your arm. Two to three days later a health care provider will examine your arm to see if a bump has developed, and if so they will measure the size of the bump. The significance of the bump is determined in conjunction with the risk factors for the disease.
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Are Certain People at Higher Risk of Becoming Ill When They are Infected with Bovine TB Disease?

News
For all kinds of tuberculosis, not just Bovine TB, there are groups of people who are more likely to become ill. HIV infection is the one of the strongest risk factors for the development of disease following infection. Other conditions that could increase the risk include: substance abuse, diabetes mellitus, silicosis, long-term corticosteroid and other immuno-suppressive treatments like chemotherapy, end stage kidney disease, and very low body weight.
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How many children and young people are infected with HIV?

USAID Health: HIV/AIDS, News/Info, Frequently Asked Question...
In 2004, 640,000 children under 15 were newly infected with HIV, bringing the total number of children living with HIV to 2.2 million. About half of all new adult HIV infections occur among 15-24 year olds. Learn more about USAID's efforts to prevent HIV in children and young people:
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How do people become infected with this virus?

USATODAY.com - Few who are infected show signs of illness
Mosquitoes bite infected birds and then bite people, injecting the virus into the blood. It can't be passed from person to person or from a bird or other animal to a person.
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How do people become infected with tularemia?

Key Facts about Tularemia - CDC Division of Vector-Borne Inf...
Typically, people become infected through the bite of infected insects (most commonly, ticks and deerflies), by handling infected sick or dead animals, by eating or drinking contaminated food or water, or by inhaling airborne bacteria. Yes. Tularemia is a widespread disease in animals. About 200 human cases of tularemia are reported each year in the United States. Most cases occur in the south-central and western states.
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How do people get infected with this germ?

Disease Listing, Campylobacter, General Information | CDC Ba...
Campylobacteriosis usually occurs in single, sporadic cases, but it can also occur in outbreaks, when a number of people become ill at one time. Most cases of campylobacteriosis are associated with handling raw poultry or eating raw or undercooked poultry meat. A very small number of Campylobacter organisms (fewer than 500) can cause illness in humans. Even one drop of juice from raw chicken meat can infect a person.
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What is TB?

TB frequently asked questions
Tuberculosis, or TB, is a disease caused by a germ (called the tubercle bacterium or Mycobacterium tuberculosis). TB usually affects the lungs, but can affect other parts of the body, such as the lymph nodes (glands), the bones and (rarely) the brain. Infection with the TB germ may not develop into TB disease.
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Hawaii State Department of Health - www.hawaii.gov/health
TB is short for tuberculosis, a disease caused by a bacteria that is spread through the air. It usually affects the lungs, but may damage other parts of the body as well and cause serious illness. People catch TB from someone who already has it - no one is born with it. Anyone, of any nationality or age, can get TB, and without treatment, they can die. The good news is that with proper medication, TB can be cured.
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