Tuberculosis (TB)

Tuberculosis, or “TB,” is a serious disease caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. TB can attack any part of the body, but most often it affects the lungs.

TB can spread when someone with active TB of the lungs or voicebox coughs, yells, sneezes, or talks and others breathe in the bacteria. People are most likely to become infected with TB if they spend many hours in close contact with someone with TB disease; brief contact usually does not lead to infection.

There are two phases of TB: latent TB infection and active TB disease. Both phases can be treated with medication. Only persons with active TB disease can spread TB germs to others.

In Minnesota, 211 cases of active TB disease were reported in 2008.

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) has a TB Prevention and Control Program, which collaborates with clinicians and local health departments throughout Minnesota to ensure that persons with TB receive effective and timely treatment and that contact investigations are performed to minimize the spread of TB.

• TB Basics
  General information about TB.

• TB Statistics
  TB data and analysis of TB trends in Minnesota and the United States.

• For Local Public Health Departments
  Tools and procedures for local health departments who manage clients with active TB or latent TB infection (LTBI).

• For Health Care Professionals
  Information about reporting TB cases; screening, diagnosis, and treatment of TB; patient education resources; cultural issues, and infection control.

• TB Guidelines and Recommendations

• TB Rules and Statutes

• TB Medications Program

• TB Class Arrivals

• MDH TB Prevention and Control Program
  Program activities, objectives, and contact information.

• TB Advisory Committee
  Minutes and presentations from the TB Advisory Committee meetings.

• Reporting TB
  All cases of tuberculosis must be reported to the Minnesota Department of Health. Find out what needs to be reported, who needs to report diseases, which forms to use and where to find out more about the disease.

• TB Worldwide
  Links to international TB organizations.
  

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