Health Department: Local Tuberculosis Rates Alarmingly High

[CLICK HERE FOR A LIST OF DOCTORS WHO DIAGNOSE AND TREAT TUBERCULOSIS IN CAMPBELL]

Not only does California have the highest number of tuberculosis cases of any state in the U.S., but the San Jose area has among the highest TB rates of any metropolitan center in the country, according to the Santa Clara County Public Health Department. 

More than 2 million people in California are currently infected with tuberculosis and one-tenth of people in the state with active TB will die with the disease. According to the health department, two-thirds of people who let their TB go untreated will die due to the ailment. 

Among the leading barriers to reducing new TB cases are the ease with which it spreads and drug resistance. Tuberculosis can be passed along just like a cold or flu, as it travels through the air when a carrier coughs. However, the disease might not develop for years after it enters the body, the health department said in a press release on Tuesday.

“As healthcare continues to evolve, our cases involving patients with TB have become more complicated, and coordinating TB care with their other medical treatments is a key to successful cure," said Dr. Marty Fenstersheib, health officer for Santa Clara County. "Health Departments are the glue that improves outcomes for patients, and protects the public from the spread of TB.”

The onus of protecting the community from further elevated TB levels falls on the shoulders of the health department.

“Our number one defense against TB is to maintain funding for a strong Health Department,” said Margo Sidener, president and CEO of Breathe California of the Bay Area. “If we lose this strong infrastructure, we will lose the battle against TB. This is exactly what happened in the 1990s when public health funding cuts coincided with the emergence of the AIDS epidemic and increased rates of TB."

[CLICK HERE FOR A LIST OF DOCTORS WHO DIAGNOSE AND TREAT TUBERCULOSIS IN CAMPBELL]