TB information sessions held in Tayside

TO support World Tuberculosis Day, NHS Tayside held information sessions in Dundee and Perth.

Events took place at Ninewells Hospital and Perth Royal Infirmary with the aim to promote awareness of the disease and highlight how everyone can play their part in helping tackle it.

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease, which can affect any part of the body but usually affects the lungs.

The infection is passed from person to person through secretions and droplets which are inhaled, for example from coughing or breathing.

Most infections do not have symptoms, in which case it is known as latent tuberculosis.

It is usually caused by the bacterium mycobacterium tuberculosis

Senior specialist nurse in health protection Margaret Ramsay said: “The events were a success and we were able to share information with members of the public and staff to increase their awareness of TB.

“The health protection team works in partnership with services in Ninewells Hospital and Perth Royal Infirmary to identify new cases of TB and support patients throughout their treatment plan.

“We also focus on tracing any contacts of the person infected with TB to offer them advice and testing if needed to ensure they are not also affected.”

TB continues to be a challenging disease worldwide, and is one of the planet’s most common with more than 2.4 billion people infected, equal to about a third of the world’s population.

It is a treatable infection and can be cured.

Although the incidence of TB in the UK has greatly reduced over the years, health services continue to see people who have TB both nationally across Scotland and locally within Tayside.

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