Tuberculosis Epidemic in Texas Paper Example

Tuberculosis (TB) is still a major threat to public health as the disease is one of the major causes of death worldwide due to infectious disease. 1127 case of TB were reported in Texas in 2017 giving the disease a prevalence rate of 4.5 per 100,000 people (Shrestha et al., 2017). Although the disease can affect anyone, in Texas it is more likely to be diagnosed in people born and raised in other countries which have a higher TB prevalence. In Texas, the people who are at the highest risk of contracting the disease include persons living with HIV/AIDS or diabetes, alcoholics and drug users, people living in congested environments such as those found in detention centers and prisons, healthcare workers and the homeless.

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Although TB can be cured with proper medication, some strains have developed resistance to the common drugs used to treat the disease. Eight people had a confirmed positive diagnosis of multidrug-resistant TB in Texas in the year 2017. However, there were no reported cases of extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB) in Texas in the same year. XDR-TB is more problematic in regards to its effective treatment using conventional TB medication.

In 2017, Texas 53percent of the reported case of TB was among Hispanics, 19 percent were among Black Americans,9 percent were among Caucasians, and Asians were reported to make up for 20 percent of the cases. Along the Texas-Mexico border, TB prevalence rates were significantly higher than in other parts of Texas. Also along this border, co-infection of TB with diabetes was more common than in other regions within the state. Homeless people had a higher TV/HIV co-infection rate than other demographic groups living in the urban centers in Texas.

Based on these findings, the recommendations that I would give to my administrator is to put more emphasis on TB prevention in Texas especially along the border with Mexico and among the groups with the highest prevalence rates. The first step in preventing the spread of TB in Texas would be to cure those already with the disease through the provision of medication (Graviss and Actor, 2016). Other precautions such as cough etiquette should be taught to the public as a way of preventing the spread of TB. Another important aspect of preventing the spread of TB is halting the development of the disease from latent to an active state for people already infected with the disease. Lastly, in preventing the spread of TB in Texas, TB infection control should be implemented. These involves the prevention of TB transmission in settings such as prisons and hospitals. Vaccination against TB is the best way to prevent the spread of the disease among individuals at the highest risk of acquiring the disease such as health workers and prisoners.

Conclusion

One of the most common study designs used in epidemiology for testing of hypothesis, identification of associations and establishment of causation for TB infections is a study of the molecular and clinical epidemiology of the disease. This kind of study design combines molecular investigations with the collection of clinical data from TB patients helping to identify the most common type of TB bacteria in a certain population. The study design can also be used to identify important parameters about the disease such as susceptibility to antibiotics, risk factors, genetic mutations within the causative agent and transmission rates. This kind of information is very helpful in putting in place effective measures for the prevention of TB transmission.

References

Graviss, E. A., & Actor, J. K. (2016). Texas Tuberculosis Research Symposium 2016: Research and clinical collaboration within the state of Texas towards the elimination of TB. Tuberculosis, 101, S1.

Shrestha, S., Hill, A. N., Marks, S. M., & Dowdy, D. W. (2017). Comparing drivers and dynamics of tuberculosis in California, Florida, New York, and Texas. American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine, 196(8), 1050-1059.