DuPage County Health Department Observes World TB Day: YES! We Can End TB
DuPage County - To raise awareness about tuberculosis (TB) prevention and treatment methods, the DuPage County Health Department (DCHD) is joining national and international partners in recognizing March 24 as World TB Day.
DuPage County has seen an overall increase in TB cases from 2010 to 2022, with a low of 23 cases in 2011 and high of 50 cases in 2018. Provisionally, there were a total of 44 active TB cases in DuPage County in 2022.
TB is a contagious and potentially life-threatening disease that is transmitted from person to person through the air when a person with active TB coughs, sneezes, speaks, or sings. People with TB are most likely to spread the germs to people they spend time with every day, such as family members or coworkers.
TB is preventable, treatable, and curable. TB can be prevented by diagnosing and treating persons with active TB disease. It can also be prevented by identifying and treating persons with latent TB infection who, if untreated, may develop active TB disease.
Overall, without treatment, about 5 to 10% of infected persons will develop TB disease at some time in their lives. About half of those people who develop TB will do so within the first two years of infection. For persons whose immune systems are weak, especially those with HIV infection, the risk of developing TB disease is considerably higher than for persons with normal immune systems.
Today, recognizing the goal of TB elimination, the DuPage County Health Department offers a TB Clinic to DuPage County residents. Services include testing, diagnosis, and treatment and are offered by appointment only; no walk-ins are accepted. Call (630) 682-7400 to make an appointment. Learn more at https://www.dupagehealth.org/326/Tuberculosis.
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