TB report
What is TB? is one of the most common infections in the world. About 2 billion people are infected with TB and nearly 3 million people are killed by it each year. In Canada, there are about 1,600 new cases of TB every year.
The bacterium that causes TB is called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Someone can become infected and yet not have any symptoms of the active disease - this is called inactive TB.
Because the bacteria that cause tuberculosis are transmitted through the air, the disease can be contagious. Infection is most likely to occur if you are exposed to someone with TB on a day-to-day basis, such as by living or working in close quarters with someone who has the active disease. Even then, because the bacteria generally stay latent (inactive) after they invade the body, only a small number of people infected with TB will ever have the active disease. The remaining will have what's called latent TB infection -- they show no signs of infection and won't be able to spread the disease to others, unless their disease becomes active. Because these latent infections can eventually become active, even people without symptoms should receive medical treatment. Medication can help get rid of the inactive bacteria before they become active.
For someone with a healthy immune system, there's only a 10% lifetime chance of the TB bacteria reactivating and causing the active symptoms of TB. If the immune system has been weakened because of HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) or other illnesses, the risk of moving from an inactive infection to an active symptomatic disease increases to 10% per year.
Community Healthcare Services
Alberta Healthcare Services Offers free tuberculosis (TB) skin testing to eligible Albertans. Testing is done at public health centres throughout the province. If you have to travel or do work-related traveling on a daily basis, the TB skin testing is done for free. If you are not eligible for free testing but still need to be tested, there will be a
The bacterium that causes TB is called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Someone can become infected and yet not have any symptoms of the active disease - this is called inactive TB.
Because the bacteria that cause tuberculosis are transmitted through the air, the disease can be contagious. Infection is most likely to occur if you are exposed to someone with TB on a day-to-day basis, such as by living or working in close quarters with someone who has the active disease. Even then, because the bacteria generally stay latent (inactive) after they invade the body, only a small number of people infected with TB will ever have the active disease. The remaining will have what's called latent TB infection -- they show no signs of infection and won't be able to spread the disease to others, unless their disease becomes active. Because these latent infections can eventually become active, even people without symptoms should receive medical treatment. Medication can help get rid of the inactive bacteria before they become active.
For someone with a healthy immune system, there's only a 10% lifetime chance of the TB bacteria reactivating and causing the active symptoms of TB. If the immune system has been weakened because of HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) or other illnesses, the risk of moving from an inactive infection to an active symptomatic disease increases to 10% per year.
Community Healthcare Services
Alberta Healthcare Services Offers free tuberculosis (TB) skin testing to eligible Albertans. Testing is done at public health centres throughout the province. If you have to travel or do work-related traveling on a daily basis, the TB skin testing is done for free. If you are not eligible for free testing but still need to be tested, there will be a