Two cases of TB in top of south

Health officials are investigating if people in Nelson and Marlborough have been exposed to tuberculosis after two people were diagnosed with the infection.

Nelson Marlborough Public Health Service medical officer of health Stephen Bridgman said two cases of tuberculosis, known as TB, were reported in December. The two cases were connected and contact tracing was under way to determine if other people had been infected. The source of the infection was not known. Tuberculosis is caused by bacteria that spread person to person through the air.

The bacteria get into the air when a person with tuberculosis coughs or sneezes.

People breathing in the air containing the bacteria can become infected. It is not easy to catch, you need to live or work closely with an infected person to catch the disease.

Bridgman said both infected individuals had been isolated for a period, as per the 2019 national guidelines for tuberculosis control in New Zealand.

There were also 14 people who had been identified with latent tuberculosis infections.

■ Tuberculosis – widely known as TB – can be deadly if left unchecked.

■ The disease usually attacks the lungs but can also attack other body parts, including bones, kidneys and the brain.

■ Symptoms include a cough lasting three weeks or more, tiredness, night sweats, weight loss and swollen glands.

■ It is not uncommon – between 200 and 300 cases of TB are recorded in New Zealand every year.

■ Left untreated by antibiotics, half the people suffering from TB would die, according to the Immunisation Advisory Centre.

■ While no TB vaccine can prevent people from becoming infected, a BCG (Bacille Calmette-Gue´rin) immunisation can protect newborns from severe forms of the disease.

Bridgeman said the link between the two confirmed cases and the latent infections was still under investigation. Latent infections occur when people

have been infected with the bacteria but have no symptoms and are not sick. They cannot spread the bacteria to others but have a small chance of developing the disease in the future. There were seven confirmed cases of TB in Nelson Marlborough in 2019.

Two billion people, a third of the world’s population, are thought to be infected with the tuberculosis bacteria. While the rates of infection are much lower in developed countries like New Zealand, it is still a major cause of lung disease. It is treated with a combination of antibiotics, which need to be taken for at least six months. Bridgman said it was thought infectiousness was greatly reduced a few days after treatment begins. However, as a precaution, isolation is usually advised for two to four weeks after treatment starts.