Mike Rosenberg: 03/23/2011
Although tuberculosis cases are dropping across California, the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara area still has the highest rate of any metropolitan area in the nation.
Santa Clara County health officials on Tuesday released figures showing that there were 196 tuberculosis cases in 2010, about the same as the prior year. That works out to 10.7 cases per 100,000 residents -- compared with a statewide average of 6 cases per 100,000 residents, which was down from the year before.
Officials say about 6 percent of tuberculosis patients die. The risk escalates when these patients also have diabetes: About one-third of those people die.
Tuberculosis, a bacterial lung disease that can remain dormant for years, is also more common among smokers. About one-fourth of people who died from TB in the county in the past two years were smokers.
Because many people who have TB don't realize it, officials estimate that as many as 10 percent of county residents may be infected.
The county has teamed up with Breathe California of the Bay Area and Asian Americans for Community Involvement to try to thwart the disease since 1999. The agencies say the risk is especially high here because the county is home to many people who travel to places with high TB rates.
"TB is still a serious problem in Santa Clara County," Dr. Julie Higashi, the county's deputy health officer, said in a statement. "We can eliminate TB if we work together to find and treat
people with TB and focus on prevention efforts."
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_17677812?nclick_check=1
No comments:
Post a Comment