World TB Day 24 March

Today is World TB Day.

Our Health Minister, Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai just announced today that the total number of TB (Tuberculosis) cases in Malaysia in 2011 is 20,666 cases, which was a 7% increase from the previous year.

This is not a good news.

In conjunction with World TB Day, we as individuals can help to stop the spread of TB by raising the awareness of TB.

Stay away from people who don't cover their mouth when they cough/sneeze. And if you cough/sneeze, please practise cough/sneeze etiquette. Also, seek immediate treatment if your cough persists over more than 2 weeks. That's the most important rule - two weeks!

The only cure for TB is by taking antibiotics. It won't go away by itself. Chinese herbs won't cure it either. Be a responsible citizen by going to a medical doctor and not chinese sinseh.

Singapore: Increase in new TB cases

Thinking of moving to Singapore? Think again...

According to Reuters, Singapore is the 2nd most crowded country in the world. That explained the headline above.

Yes, new TB cases in Singapore are rising. You can read the news at The Star.

Some of the highlights are:

The Health Ministry was alerted to 2,791 new cases last year, a figure 10.9% higher than the 2,517 in 2009.

Last year, TB affected 39.2 individuals for every 100,000 residents here; the year before, it was 38.6 for every 100,000.

As I have blogged before, TB is different from H1N1 or the common cold. The mycobacterium tuberculosis, which causes TB can linger in the air for up to four hours after an infected individual coughs, sneezes, laughs, sings, or talks. This is unlike H1N1 (or any influenza/common cold virus) where the virus dropped to the ground after an infected individual coughs or sneezes.

H1N1 (or any influenza/common cold virus) is spread via respiratory droplets while TB is spread airborne. Both are highly contagious and one should not be infected.

Being infected with TB is not nice at all. You have to undergo an antibiotic therapy for 9 months (or even more) just to cure it. You have to eat antibiotics every single day for 9 months. You must not missed a day or you will be in serious trouble (meaning you can't be cured). And these antibiotics are not the ordinary antibiotics you see in the clinic. The side effects are awful.

And again, no Chinese sinseh is able to cure a person from TB. Probably, that's why TB cases are rising. Some infected people keep going to the Chinese sinseh hoping to find a cure but instead they spread their infection to others because they keep coughing and they can't be cured by the sinseh!

So, stop the spread, go to a proper medical clinic, and observe cough/sneeze etiquette!

Drug Resistant TB Alert!

Tuberculosis (TB) is back with a vengeance in Europe, now!

For those of you who travel frequently to Europe or Central Asia, just be cautious of your surrounding. Having said that, it does not mean you can relax just because you are in Malaysia. Our government has been trying hard for yearssss to bring down the statistics. For example in Penang alone, there were about 200 to 300 TB cases in 2004 but it has risen to over 1,000 cases in 2010. And that is in Penang alone.

TB is spread airborne, unlike H1N1 which is spread via respiratory droplets. The mycobacterium tuberculosis (the germ that causes TB) could stay afloat in the air for at least four hours.

Millions of TB germs are spewed into the air when an infected person coughs, sneezes, talks, laughs, or even if he sings.

H1N1 may kill you within days but TB is a "torturing device" that tortures you for years before killing you! In fact HIV and TB are like brothers and sisters.

Please read the article at The Star here - Dangerous TB spreading at alarming rate in Europe - WHO.

TB is curable but it has returned with a vengeance. They came back in the form of drug resistant TB, which are either Multi Drug Resistant TB (MDR-TB) or Extensive Drug Resistant TB (XDR TB). These two types of TB are not easy to be cured. So, please do not take this lightly.

Thanks to people who do not know how to observe proper hygiene and those who do not practice simple cough/sneeze etiquette, that is why TB is spreading at an alarming rate.

Just remember the simple rule, if you are coughing for more than two weeks, see the doctor asap to query about TB.

And please, please, please, do NOT see the sinseh (traditional Chinese doctor). There is NO herbal treatment for TB.

You have to see a doctor in a hospital for a proper treatment. And yes, our government hospitals in Malaysia provide treatment at a very affordable cost. And I do really mean it, affordable, like just a few ringgit. Do not delay your treatment because TB is like a tumour. It grows very fast once you are infected and it eats up your lungs. And the damage is irreversible.

The underrated TB

Every now and then, newspapers will publish news on new infection of H1N1 or the H5N1.

What about TB? TB seems to be old news and underrated.

Like I blogged previously, TB was like HIV prior to the 1940s because there was no cure for TB at that time. So, imagine HIV being spread airborne. Those were the days.

Unlike H1N1 or H5N1, TB victims, just like AIDS victims, are tortured for months or even years before being succumbed to it. Of course, there is a cure for TB now. But....

Now, let's put TB aside, instead we have MDR-TB (multi drug resistant TB) today. This is a cause for concern because it's not easy to cure MDR-TB. Again, we are going back to square one.

Please read this journal right here for knowledge sake. MDR-TB is alive and spreading!

According to that study, in 2008, an estimated 390,000-510,000 cases of MDR-TB have emerged globally and China reported a high proportion of drug resistance with the highest burden of cases in the world.

You should be scared.

What are antibiotics?

This year is the very first year I took antibiotics. I have never taken any antibiotics before in my life. So, I didn't know much about antibiotics until this year.

Now I recalled seeing a particular colleague of mine (when I was working in one factory) who took antibiotics several times for minor reasons. Everytime, she had a runny nose (I assumed she had the common cold), she would see a doctor. When she came back to the office, I would see her taking some pills which look to me like antibiotics.

Similarly, everytime I see the doctor for the common cold (since I want to get the MC...hehe), the doctor would prescribed some antibiotics to me. Luckily I did not eat those antibiotics as I realised recently that antibiotics only work against bacterial infection NOT virus infection. The common cold is caused by the rhinovirus infection.

Because of the widespread use and misuse of antibiotics in modern society, bacteria are constantly exposed to these antibiotics. As a result, many bacteria have already developed resistance to the drugs' effects, just like the Superbug NDM-1. Just like I had blogged in my earlier post, I'm afraid we are going back prior to the 20th century before the invention of penicillin/antibiotics due to the increasing bacterial resistance to antibiotics. We are just going back to square one.

Antibiotics must be taken strictly as prescribed to avoid bacterial resistance and a dose must not be missed. For example, those on TB treatment have to take up to 8 tablets of antibiotics per day for 6 months. A dose must never never never be missed or else the mycobacterium tuberculosis will grow stronger and start to develop resistance against those antibiotics. As a result, the TB could turned into MDR-TB (Multi Drug Resistance TB) or XDR-TB (Extensive drug resistance TB), which are harder to cure. These MDR-TB and XDR-TB are man-made diseases, speaking metaphorically.

The common side effects of antibiotics include upset stomach, diarrhea, and, in women, vaginal yeast infections. Some side effects are more severe and, depending on the antibiotic, may disrupt the function of the kidney, liver, bone marrow, or other organs.

There was a news of a lady who took excessive painkillers that led to her liver failure in TheStar. It is important that you do not simply prescribe yourself any medications whether it is antibiotics or painkillers. Also, remember NOT to take antibiotics for a virus infection.

If you miss a dose, take it as soon as possible and continue with your regular schedule. If it is almost time for your next dose, skip the missed dose and continue with your regular dosing schedule. Do not take a double dose to make up for a missed one.