Thanks to Covid-19, every time a cluster of another disease crops up, no matter how harmless, we start panicking.
This is because we want bubble tea stores to remain open, and would rather drink 20 liquified McSpicys than go through another circuit breaker.
Unfortunately for us, diseases aren’t known for their sympathy towards humans. Their only goal in life is to survive, and that means we’ll have to combat viruses and diseases until the end of time.
Everything About Tuberculosis & Why There’s a Cluster in Hougang Simplified for You
A tuberculosis cluster was detected in a residential area of Hougang Avenue 1, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Saturday (24 Oct).
As a precautionary measure, current and former residents of Block 174D of Hougang Avenue 1 will be offered voluntary screening for the disease.
According to MOH, four individuals residing in four different units at the block were diagnosed with the disease.
They were diagnosed between January 2018 and June this year.
Two, however, have already completed treatment. The other two are currently undergoing treatment and are no longer infectious.
There’s no need to be alarmed as patients soon become non-infectious once treatment starts, according to MOH.
Still, close contacts of the four cases have been identified and contacted for screening.
Unusual Pattern of Spread
What’s a little strange is how the disease spread amongst the four cases.
For one, they have never interacted with each other, nor have they gathered at the same common areas.
They had also not identified each other as close contacts.
“The cluster therefore does not fit the usual pattern of tuberculosis spread,” MOH said.
What is Tuberculosis?
For those who don’t know, tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease that primarily affects the lungs, but can also attack other parts of the body such as the kidney, spine, and brain.
Most infections show no symptoms, and not everyone infected with TB bacteria becomes sick.
There are two infections associated with TB: latent TB infection (LTBI) and TB disease.
A latent TB infection means that patients do not feel sick and don’t show any symptoms.
On the other hand, if TB disease is left untreated, it could become fatal.
As MOH noted, TB is typically spread through close and prolonged contact with an infectious individual, and not by contact with items or surfaces touched by a person with tuberculosis.
It’s transmitted through the air when people who have active TB in their lungs cough, spit, speak, or sneeze.
This means that the risk of transmission to those who aren’t close contacts of a case is very low.
According to The Straits Times, latent TB infection is not uncommon in the country, especially among older Singaporeans, as the condition had been prevalent in Singapore until the 1970s.
The famous BCG some of us have as a baby is a vaccine for TB, though not everyone might have that, especially the older folks.
Fortunately, even if you have active TB, it is curable.
Yes, we’re still only battling one disease, and there’s no need to panic.
If you do exhibit any symptoms of TB, however, you should see a doctor immediately.
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