Vaccination for TB

southernscouser

TB is on the increase in this country for the first time in something like 20 years! The number of immigrants now living here from countries where it is more prevelant is the main reason behind it.

And the fact so many dirty little barstewards (British and non) think it's acceptable to spit on the street means it's only going to get worse. You read it here first folks.

Robothell

LillyJ wrote: »

......... XDR (extreme drug resistant TB, of which there has been only 1 case in the UK which was caught abroad) is no more contagious than other forms of TB, you would need to spend prolonged time within close contact of the patient.

Although the first case of XDR (extensively drug resistant) TB was just reported in the UK in March this is not the only resistant strain. Indeed there are many cases of MDR (multiple drug resistant) TB in the UK currently and have been for years. I agree it is not any more contagious although I don't think I would play down the infectivity of TB - it's difficult to define the terms "prolonged" and "close contact".

hev_2

I go to a church where there are people who come from sub-Saharan Africa. It's a great church and I want my DS to come with me, as it is a working church, it cares about people. Services and social events can be a few hours long.

All the links say young children more susceptible - DS is 16 months.

I can feel the dippy meter climbing

DS is well nourished and loved. And we are lucky enough to live in a country where medical aid is available and free.

I think I'll trust my GP on this one. (Actually, they're normally very good, so I should just get a grip. )

Thank goodness for MSE!

hev_2

Thank you LillyJ. I really appreciate your posts.

All my DS's vaccinations are up to date, I really believe in them, he has had the MMR. I think we are extremely lucky that we are in a situation where our healthcare exists.

I'm almost certainly going to get dippy over something else, but at least I recognise that I get dippy, and MSE will set me straight.

LadyMorticia

I was about 11 years old when I had mine done at secondary school., which was 10 years ago. I didn't realize that so much had changed vaccine wise. =/

xx

LillyJ

LadyMorticia wrote: »

I was about 11 years old when I had mine done at secondary school., which was 10 years ago. I didn't realize that so much had changed vaccine wise. =/

xx

It has only changed recently. The vaccination schedule is unrecognisable from a few years ago, it changes very frequently. One of the other big changes is the Meningitis C jab in infancy.

LadyMorticia

LillyJ wrote: »

It has only changed recently. The vaccination schedule is unrecognisable from a few years ago, it changes very frequently. One of the other big changes is the Meningitis C jab in infancy.

Oh. Thanks for clarifying.

I remember having the Meningitis C vaccine when I was 12. I used to love needles. but I hated that one.lol.

xx

Robothell

LillyJ wrote: »

...... In cases of TB (I have a PhD in public health) a contact can almost invariably be traced, meaning people don't just get it off a stranger on the bus.
I just think altering your lifestyle or having vaccinations based on a theoretical and slim chance of catching something within a few minutes on a bus is a little excessive.

Hev, I think you have made the correct decision, if you are still worried I would ask another GP but I suspect they would say the same thing.

Like I said, it depends on your definitions of "prolonged" - some people would say anything over 5 minutes is prolonged, others would say it needs to be more than an hour. It also depends on how you are interacting with the TB case. For example, in the hospital setting if you are a physiotherapist working with someone with open TB you are at a significantly higher risk of infection than a perosn eating in the same cafe as someone with TB. If you're sitting beside a person on the bus I agree it is unlikely but the theoretical risk is still there. This was the reason for removing the vaccine for all those expect the at risk population - where the theoretical risk is higher there will be immunisation.

I'm impressed that you are able to contact trace most of your cases. Our CCDC (Consultant in Communicable Disease Control) in NI reports that only approximately 10% of cases can be contact traced, and this would be in line with the data on the HPA website for the rest of the UK.

Having said that, despite the media shock stories, TB is still at quite a low level and the vast majority of cases are the non-resistant strain of the bug. I have to agree that Hev has made the right decision - the best person to advise you on the situation is your GP who will know both your families past medical history and the local epidemiology and can therefore make an accurate risk assessment.

For anyone with any other worries, I can't recommend the HPA website enough. A lot of it is a bit specialist but they carry out mandatory surveillance of all areas in the UK (for example hospitals have to inform them of new TB cases) and so are the most reliable source of info on the internet.

sooz

Yes, you can get it done privately. This is one place that does it.

I don't know where you are based, but they also do outreach clinics.

Both my children have had the vaccine, the eldest at 3 months old, & the youngest was not allowed out of hospital until he'd had it, so he was only 6 hours old. :eek: We live in a nice area, but within the borough there are areas rife with TB. So now they vaccinate every new baby before it comes out of hospital.

Mrs_P_Pincher

I had the BCG vaccination when I was 12 or 13, at senior school and when TB started to rise again and I was working with susceptible groups of people I was assured by my GP that it conferred immunity - period. I was horrified therefore to read in the paper a couple of weeks ago that the BCG only ever conferred about 75% immunity and then only for about 15 years.

Maybe there is someone on here who can confirm or deny this, but I am concerned, especially as it is a disease that the new generation of doctors have not seen until now and often apparently misdiagnose. I just think of the Brontes and it gives me the creeps. I'm not ready to go into a decline yet.

Mrs PP