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Study states, tuberculosis in Australia has been considered & it comes under notifiable diseases,gets easily transmitted

Home, - PUBH621: Simulated contact tracing and exposure assessment

Introduction
Tuberculosis is an infectious disease in which lungs of a human being gets infected. Tuberculosis are mainly caused by activity of bacteria known as Bacterium Mycobacterium. Tuberculosis can be treated by antibiotics as well as by medical supervision. In this study, tuberculosis in Australia has been considered and it comes under notifiable disease. Northern Territory and Victoria has different tuberculosis contact tracing and it puts burden in allover Australia. It gets easily transmitted and pulmonary tuberculosis is infectious in nature and has different clinical circumstances for testing. Several procedures have taken for identifying contacts and preventing it from an epidemic.

1. Notifiable disease in Australia
The diseases that gets law and need to be reported to the government authority for monitoring the disease is coined as notifiable disease. The information about these disease should collated with government authorities and this allows them to monitor these disease and controls them before any kind of outbreak in a community. The Communicable Disease Network Australia (CDNA) has listed several notifiable disease and provides a base for developing the policy of public health and responds for preventing disease outbreak in nationwide. Notifiable disease in Australia allows the government authorities to get reported as it generally abide by law along with some rules and regulations. Each year Australia get reported around 1200 cases among which 85 percent are migrant populations (The Department of Health, 2018). Medical attention and antibiotics through several ways might control such as tuberculosis. Early identification is most important part as it get easily infected from one person to another.

Tuberculosis can be identified by condition of infected person as they get pain in chest area and causes problem in breathing. Chronic cough with blood along with fatigue and loss of appetite are main symptoms of tuberculosis. These lead a person to fatal breakdown of health and cause shortness in breathing as well as loss in weight. In the year 2016, around 2 people per 100000 people in Australia lost their lives from tuberculosis (The Department of Health, 2018). As it is infectious in nature, it can get easily spread among a community or a group of people. CDNA has identified several diseases that are notifiable in nature and among them some are Anthrax, Botulism, Cholera, Tuberculosis and Diphtheria and others. As a Public Health Officer, tuberculosis should be diagnosed well with proper medical treatment along with proper dose of antibiotics.

2. Contact tracing in Epidemiology
Contact tracing in Epidemiology is a procedure through which identification and diagnosis of people takes place who have contacted with an infected people. This particular process mainly identifies the people who have come into contact with an infected people and the process of diagnosis also takes place. As per Barejaet al. (2014), it might be for sexually transmitted diseases where the disease gets transmitted with sexual activity. Tuberculosis can be spreaded from one person to another as it is infectious in nature and it might prevent by keeping distance from an infected person and not using any of their personally used belongings. Proper dose of antibiotics should be provided to the infected person for controlling the effect of tuberculosis and early identification is most important part as it get easily infected from one person to another.

In contact tracing there are three levels of infectiousness such as high, medium and low. High infectiousness positive sputum smear, involvement of laryngeal and x-ray of chest and others. According to Daraet al. (2017), medium infectiousness includes negative sputum smear, pleural disease along with positive bronchial washing smear. In case of low infectiousness only there is negative sputum smear. It is recommended that bacterial test should conduct for better identification of infectious disease that is tuberculosis. Infectious period should be determined as it is the main period of time where it should properly diagnosed with proper medical facilities. Epidemiology of tuberculosis should cover public health and shapes it policies along with decision making strategies that mainly identifies risk factor of a particular disease and prevents it. Inspired from Denholmet al. (2017), contact tracing of tuberculosis identifies the people who have come into contact with an infected people and the process of diagnosis also takes place.

3. Difference between Tuberculosis Contact Tracing in Northern Territory and Victoria
Contact tracing guidelines mainly focuses on patients who are diagnosed with treatable sexually transmitted disease. It is vital in nature and treatment of person are should be properly considered and it might get infectious very quickly. In the viewpoint of Francis et al. (2014), tuberculosis contact tracing in Northern Territory and victoria has some difference in them as guideline that are made are considering several factors that affects contact tracing of both Northern Territory and Victoria. Contact tracing guidelines of Northern Territory has different guideline that include transmission of infection, diagnosis of tuberculosis, signs and symptoms, Sputum collection and others. Contact tracing guidelines of Victoria has different guidelines and it consist of infectious agents of the disease, public health significance, mode of transmission of tuberculosis, control measures of tuberculosis and others. The following table shows the difference between guideline of contact tracing of tuberculosis in Northern Territory and Victoria (The Department of Health, 2018).

 

Tuberculosis Contact Tracing guideline in Northern Territory

Tuberculosis Contact Tracing guideline in Victoria

Transmission of infection - tuberculosis gets easily infected from one person to another

Infectious agents of the disease - bacteria is the main agent for infectious tuberculosis

Diagnosis of tuberculosis - it can be properly diagnosed with proper dose of antibiotics and medical supervision

Public health significance - health of public can get easily infected by bacteria of tuberculosis

Signs and symptoms - chronic cough with blood, loss of weight and appetite, chest pain and others

Mode of transmission of tuberculosis - it can be transmitted through direct contact and from sexually transmitted disease

Sputum collection - sputum should be collected for medical test and examined microscopically for better treatment

Control measures of tuberculosis - proper diagnosis with proper dose of antibiotics and medical supervision might control tuberculosis

Table 1: Difference between Tuberculosis Contact Tracing guideline in Northern Territory and Victoria

(Source: The Department of Health, 2018)

From the above table, it can be seen that tuberculosis contact tracing has different guideline from Victoria in which it includes transmission of infection. Tuberculosis gets easily infected from one person to another as it is carried by bacteria. It can cause due to direct contact with another person or from sexually transmitted disease during any sexual activity. It can be properly diagnosed with proper dose of antibiotics and medical supervision. Jones et al. (2017) stated that consulting with doctor and giving proper medical treatment can improve in health condition of an tuberculosis infected person. It has some symptoms such as pain in chest with chronic cough along with blood. Loss of appetite along with loss of weight is another symptom and sign of tuberculosis. Sputum collection is another important guideline of contact tracing as it helps in better treatment of an infected people. Medical test with proper examination also help an infected people for better treatment. Contact tracing guideline of Victoria has some different guideline in it such as infectious agents of tuberculosis are bacteria and this is the main agent for spreading of it. Lumbet al. (2014) mentioned that public health significance is another guideline where it considers health of public who are getting easily infected from bacteria of tuberculosis. Mode of transmission of tuberculosis is through direct contact and through sexually transmitted disease during any sexual activity. Control measures of tuberculosis can implement by proper diagnosis with proper dose of antibiotics and medical supervision might control tuberculosis.

4. i. Disease burden of TB in Australia
Disease burden of TB in Australia has classified as per available treatment. In the year 2015, 6.4 % of infected person are classified into category of relapse and among them treatment are provided as per level of infection. The rate of relapse is around 8 people per 100000 people that get infected each year. It has decreased to 5 people per 100000 people in the following year (The Department of Health, 2018). Health Board of Australia has an aim to review tuberculosis were a retrospective analysis has conducted for certain period of time. Infection from tuberculosis is reducing in recent years in Australia as method of treatment has improved in current years. Moreover, incidence has decreased due to improvement in medical treatment along with decreased rate of transmission. As it is infectious in nature, it can get easily spread among a community or a group of people. In the year 2016, around 2 people per 100000 people in Australia lost their lives from tuberculosis. Number of people that gets affected from tuberculosis is around 30 to 100 people per 100000 people each year (The Department of Health, 2018). Therefore, as public health officer of tuberculosis is infectious and should be properly treated with medical supervision. Infected people should not get panic until they are being tested medically in a laboratory. Improper treatment or lack of treatment might be fatal for an individual as it might cause life risk of them. Infection from tuberculosis is reducing in recent years in Australia as method of treatment has improved in current years. On other hand, burden of this particular disease can be notified as highest rate of overseas born population. As per Moyoet al. (2015), infection from tuberculosis might be fatal and Australia has started to eliminate this particular disease in recent years.

ii. Transmission of pulmonary TB and how infectious
Pulmonary tuberculosis is mainly caused by bacterium Mycobacterium and it has a special ability in which it gets easily transmitted from one person to another. An individual can get infected from pulmonary tuberculosis by breathing from an infected person and from their direct contact. Air droplets originated from their coughing and sneezing are harmful and might cause infection to an individual. Inspired from Teoet al. (2015), lungs is the organ that gets mainly affected by pulmonary tuberculosis where it adopts severe cough with blood. This particular bacteria gets spread from one people to another and among them one should be infected from pulmonary tuberculosis. This type of bacteria remains suspended for hours in air and is infected to another people who have low immunity power. Better immunity system of a people immediate kills those infectious bacteria that are totally responsible for pulmonary tuberculosis. It is highly infectious in nature as it get easily transmitted from one individual to another. Pulmonary tuberculosis can spread from one person to another as it is infectious in nature and it might be prevented by keeping distance from an infected person and not using any of their personally used belongings. In the viewpoint of Trauer, J. M., & Cheng (2016), it can cause due to direct contact with another person or from sexually transmitted disease during any sexual activity. It can be properly diagnosed with proper dose of antibiotics and medical supervision. It might get low risk for an individual as it is totally depends upon immune system of an individual. Moreover, risk of pulmonary tuberculosis also depends upon age of an individual. People aged between 40 to 65 years gets more prone to this particular disease as their immune system gets weak. Therefore, lungs are the organ that gets mainly affected by pulmonary tuberculosis where it adopts severe cough with blood.

iii. Risk group for contact tracing and clinical circumstances for testing
High risk group for contact tracing of tuberculosis is from 40 to 65 years of age. This particular age group of people is more prone to pulmonary tuberculosis as their immune system becomes weak along with their age. Group of people who are infected from pulmonary tuberculosis must get proper medical treatment from an medical institutions. Specialised doctors should appoint for this particular group of infected people as they required special medical treatment. Lumbet al. (2014) mentioned that distance should be maintained from these people as pulmonary tuberculosis gets easily infected from one person to another. Special medical testing should conduct for these infected groups of people as they require medical support for their treatment. Member of the community must be presented to the clinic for testing as they should test under medical supervision in a laboratory. Improper treatment or lack of treatment might be fatal for an individual as it might cause life risk of them. Infected people should not get panic until they are being tested medically in a laboratory.

iv. Procedures taken for identified contacts along with follow up
There are several procedures that are taken for identified contacts such as improving ventilation of their indoor spaces that prevents to survive harmful and infectious bacteria. Use of ultraviolet lamps that consist of germicidal quality helps in recovery from pulmonary tuberculosis. This type of disease should properly diagnose and treated before it gets active in a human health. Inspired from Teoet al. (2015), this type of bacteria becomes active after a certain period of time so it should be treated as soon as possible. Directly observed therapy might be used in this scenario as it kills internal bacteria that causes pulmonary tuberculosis in an individual. Control measures of tuberculosis can implement by proper diagnosis with proper dose of antibiotics and medical supervision might control tuberculosis. BCG vaccine might be used in an infected person as it helps in recovery from tuberculosis.

v. Index case student return to class and safe from infectious disease
Index case student who has infection from pulmonary tuberculosis has to be treated first with proper medical attention and proper test that should conduct in medical laboratory. The index student might return to class after consuming proper dose of antibiotics and proper medical support. Laboratory should mention that the student has no trace of bacteria of pulmonary tuberculosis in his or her body. According to Daraet al. (2017), people of community should know about the condition of health of the index student. They should provide with proper knowledge of an infectious disease and must verify that there is no trace of bacteria left in body of that particular student.

Conclusion
From the above study, it can be concluded that tuberculosis is an infectious disease that gets easily transmitted from one person to another. Tuberculosis is mainly caused by bacterium Mycobacterium. It has been listed as notifiable disease and provides a base for developing the policy of public health and responds for preventing disease outbreak in nationwide. Tuberculosis is infectious in nature and treatment of infected person are should be properly considered and it might get transmitted very quickly. Infection from tuberculosis is reducing in recent years in Australia as method of treatment has improved in current years. This particular disease has some symptoms such as pain in chest with chronic cough along with blood. Loss of appetite along with loss of weight is another symptom and sign of tuberculosis. Difference between contact tracing of Northern Territory and Victoria has been discussed in which several heads has been discussed.

 

 

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