It has now been 10 years this past June since the outbreak of tuberculosis in Ninety Six, S.C. Two school employees developed active tuberculosis/TB, and by the end of the month at least 100 school kids, teachers and others tested positive for TB exposure. It is unusual to have such a large outbreak in present day South Carolina.
There were 8,300 TB cases reported in the United States in 2022, this then would mean about 2.5 cases per population of 100,000 people. Also in 2022 the state of South Carolina reported only a total of 101 cases of TB. In 1953, 84,304 cases of TB were reported in the U.S.
Medical treatment for active TB was not available until 1949 following the development of the antibiotic streptomycin. Soon the TB bacteria became resistant to single drug use and subsequently a form of combination therapy was given with as many as three anti-tuberculosis medications being given for extended periods of time such as at least six months or longer.
Tuberculosis is a bacterial infection that is spread through exposure to droplets related to coughing or sneezing from a patient with active TB.There are two types of this disease: latent and active TB. The germ is diagnosed with the aid of a skin test.
A positive test without pulmonary symptoms and a negative chest x-ray implies latent TB. This form is not transmissible. In general it takes from eight to twelve weeks after exposure for a skin test to become positive. This does not mean that active TB is present, but in most cases treatment lasting up to 12 weeks is recommended.
Active TB requires medical therapy for at least four to six months or longer.
Tuberculosis has plagued humans for thousands of years. In one study, one-third of recently evaluated Egyptian mummies were found to have TB by testing using polymerase chain reaction/PCR testing. In the old days – meaning only about 100 years ago – TB was often fatal, if not at least life-changing. The list of luminaries who had TB at least in some form includes John Keats, Nelson Mandala, Robert Burns, Eleanor Roosevelt and Henry Thoreau. Thoreau probably first contracted the disease in 1835 and died because of TB in 1862 at the age of 44 years. Tuberculosis was the leading cause of death in the U.S. in the 1800s.
It has been stated that up to 30% of the world's living population has latent TB. However only 5-10% of those with latent TB who are not treated will later develop active tuberculosis.
Thanks to local nurses in Ninety Six, S.C. the 2013 outbreak of TB was discovered. A total of 1,526 people were tested and 106 had positive TB skin tests. Of these 106 who tested positive, 12 developed active TB by the last days of June 2013. Tuberculosis is now a preventable and treatable disease.
