PUBLIC HEALTH
WE NEED YOUR HELP TO CONTROL
TUBERCULOSIS IN LOUISVILLE
PLEASE CONSIDER TB IN YOUR DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS AND REPORT AND
REFER CASES TO THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELLNESS
AUTHOR Lori Caloia, MD
T
uberculosis is a disease that is still
very much with us in Louisville!
Once relatively rare in developed
countries such as the United States,
tuberculosis infections began in-
creasing in 1985, partly because of
the emergence of HIV. Tuberculosis
(TB) remains one of the top ten causes of death
worldwide and is the leading killer of those who are HIV-positive.
In 2017, an estimated 1 million children became ill with TB and
230,000 children died of it.
Multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) remains a public health crisis
and a world health security threat. The World Health Organization
estimates that there were 558,000 new cases with resistance to rifam-
picin – the most effective first-line drug; of these, 82% had MDR-TB.
Here in Louisville, we continue to see tuberculosis infections and,
based on the increasing number of at-risk individuals in our com-
munity, we expect the number of cases to continue to trend upward.
In 2017, we treated 16 individuals with active TB disease. In 2018,
we treated 26 active TB cases and 65 suspected cases. We continue to
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LOUISVILLE MEDICINE
treat latent tuberculosis infection at high levels, particularly in those
who were previously incarcerated and in our homeless, immigrant,
refugee and health care-worker populations.
Our goal at the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health
and Wellness (LMPHW) Regional Tuberculosis (TB) Clinic is to
provide the highest possible level of TB care in our community. This
cannot happen without your help!
To protect public health, reduce infection rates within our com-
munity, improve tuberculosis services in Louisville and surround-
ing areas, and make better use of our limited health care dollars;
I am reaching out to physicians to request your vital and valuable
partnership with the Louisville Metro Public Health and Wellness
Regional TB Clinic.
Here are some ways you can help control the spread of TB in
our community.
1. Please consider tuberculosis infection in your differential
diagnosis. Often, TB diagnosis is delayed due to its not being
considered a possible cause of a patient’s symptoms or abnormal
imaging finding. Two frequent examples include unresolved
pneumonia and cavitation on a chest x-ray. Delay in diagnosis