Health officials yesterday issued a warning to travellers from a Greyhound bus with destination to Kelowna, B.C. from Lethbridge, A.B. after a traveller was identified as being infected with TB. Because the person was travelling during the infectious stage of the disease, there is cause for concern for the other passengers who rode in the same bus for any period of time on May 24.
For those of us who live here in the beautiful, rather wealthy land of British Columbia, it is sometimes easy to forget about the struggle that some others around the world deal with every day just to survive. One point of hardship is the disease tuberculosis. (more…)
A student at the University of Victoria has developed tuberculosis, and letters are being sent to people who may have been in contact with the student, Canada.com reported on Monday. The student is being treated, and health officials think that the risk of anyone else becoming sick is small. Cases like this are a reminder that tuberculosis still remains a serious illness. (more…)
Wait…what?In my short time volunteering with TB Vets, I have already gained knowledge into what Tuberculosis really is. Before it was just a word, but now it has meaning. It is an airborne disease caused by organisms that usually infect the lungs. It is an infection that takes lives.The disease was romanticized in the 19th century as it seemed to give artists burst of creativity. It was said to make woman more beautiful, and men more imaginative. Tuberculosis has had many names throughout history such as : Consumption, Phthisis (Greek for Consumption), the Wasting Disease, White Plague, King’s Evil, Pott’s Disease, Gibbus, Milary TB, Koch’s Disease, and even Vampirism. It’s true – persons with TB were thought to be vampires. (more…)
For many years now, TB Vets has supported research on tuberculosis right here in BC. It is always exciting when new discoveries are made that help the world learn more about this disease. TB is a world-wide disease that affects millions of people every year. Recently, on the Atilt-Yam site, in Israel, researchers found evidence of the possible existence of TB during the Neolithic period.
Human remains were found under water. On the bones, lesions showing possible trace of Tuberculosis were discovered on what they believe are a 25-year-old woman and a child. The DNA of the bones was well preserved and so they decide to run up two different tests to prove without shadow of a doubt that TB had caused the lesions, 9000 years ago. A PCR experiment and a HPLC method were used to prove this. The results were positives for both tests.
Experts are now trying to find a way to explain how those two people had been in contact with tuberculosis. One possible theory is by being in contact with cattle.
According to a story in the Windsor Star, health officials in Ontario are looking for 27 people who rode on a bus from Toronto to Windsor on August 31. A woman with active tuberculosis rode on the bus, and the other passengers need to be checked for exposure to TB. The risk is very small that they may have contracted TB, but health officials want to do everything they can to ensure the passengers’ health and safety.
Here at TB Vets, we frequently get phone calls asking why we still support research into better treatments for tuberculosis when TB is a “disease of the past.” This story illustrates that TB is still very much active in the world. While there are treatments for tuberculosis, it remains a major health concern worldwide, and it can still be fatal if it is not properly treated. The WHO estimates that someone in the world will be infected with the TB bacilli every second. An estimated 1.6 million people die of TB every year. At TB Vets, we fund two researchers at UBC who are searching for new ways to combat tuberculosis.
We do know, however, that many other respiratory diseases affect the health of British Columbians. That’s why we put almost $500,000 worth of respiratory equipment in BC hospitals every year. This equipment helps doctors diagnose and treat all sorts of breathing problems. We also fund bursaries for respiratory therapy students at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, BC’s only respiratory therapy training centre.
With your help, TB Vets wants to ensure that someday, TB truly is “a disease of the past,” and all British Columbians who need help to breath receive the best care in the world.
