Hays County Commissioners Court Proclaims World TB Day In Hays County

It’s estimated that more than one million Texas residents are infected with the bacterium, and although those individuals are not currently contagious, they have at least a 10 percent lifetime risk of developing an active disease…

Hays County Courthouse – The Hays County Commissioners Court on Tuesday proclaimed March 24 as World TB Day in Hays County and reminded citizens that tuberculosis remains a threat in Texas – it is ranked fifth in the nation in TB cases – as well as in Hays County.

The World Health Organization estimates that nearly one-third of the world’s population is infected with tuberculosis.

In 2016 Tuberculosis caused disease in 1,250 Texans, including three in Hays County and 56 from counties that directly border Hays, and caused 52 deaths statewide.

It’s estimated that more than one million Texas residents are infected with the bacterium, and although those individuals are not currently contagious, they have at least a 10 percent lifetime risk of developing an active disease if not treated preventively.

There are also drug-resistant forms of TB that are of great concern to the medical community.

“The pulmonary TB bacterium can remain contagious in the air for up to five hours,” Iris Barrera, RN, TB Program Supervisor for the Local Health Department, told the Court. “Persons diagnosed with latent or active TB undergo a regimen of supervised treatment and those with active cases must remain quarantined and supervised for up to two years.” 

While latent TB patients show no symptoms, making screening essential, individuals with an active case of the disease may show symptoms such as a cough that lasts longer than three weeks, fever and chills, coughing up blood, chest pain (especially when coughing or breathing), and fatigue.

Photo Attached:

Left to right Precinct 2 Commissioner Mark Jones, Precinct 1 Commissioner Debbie Gonzales Ingalsbe, Local Health Department Director Clint Garza, TB Program Supervisor Iris Barrera, RN; TB Program Assistant Hortencia Perez, RMA; Precinct 3 Commissioner Lon Shell, and Precinct 4 Commissioner Ray Whisenant. The Commissioners Court has proclaimed March 24 as World TB Day in Hays County to call attention to the need to stop the spread of TB in Texas and throughout the world.