HJAR Sep/Oct 2022

40 SEP / OCT 2022 I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS ADH CORNER DIALOGUE COLUMN ADH CORNER Contrary to common belief, even among some healthcare professionals, tuberculosis (TB) is not a thing of the past. TB was still the No. 1 infectious disease killer in the world with 1.5 million deaths annually until 2020, when COVID-19 became No. 1. Tuberculosis Killed Twice as Many Arkansans in 2021 as It Did Before the COVID-19 Pandemic WHILE TB is still found worldwide, theWorld Health Organization estimates about half of all people with TB can be found in eight countries: Bangladesh, China, India, Indone- sia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, and South Africa. Although the number of TB cases in the United States is lower, the disease should not be overlooked, especially among those who are foreign-born. TB is spread from a person with active dis- ease to others through aerosols produced by breathing, talking, and singing. The infec- tion has two stages: latent TB (when the germ is dormant) and active TB (when the germ causes damage to body organs, most com- monly the lungs). Latent TB is not infectious, but one in 10 people with latent TB will de- velop active TB that is infectious at some point in their lifetime. Active TB in the lungs is highly contagious. The longer it goes un- treated, the more people will be exposed and infected. TB should be considered in anyone with a persistent or recurrent respiratory in- fection (especially pneumonia), prolonged cough (over two weeks), persistent fever, and unexplained weight loss. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, TB cas- es in Arkansas had steadily decreased since 1969 when it was well above the national average to being on par with it by the 1990s. In raw numbers, Arkansas fell from almost 600 cases diagnosed in 1969 to under 100