KING COUNTY, WA - On March 24th, World TB Day, Public Health - Seattle & King County is urging residents to be aware that tuberculosis (TB) remains a yearly killer of millions of people around the world and those who travel or live abroad need to be especially cautious of contracting the disease.

"Despite a national decline in TB rates, the incidence of TB in King County has been relatively stable in recent years," said Dr. Alonzo Plough, Director of Public Health - Seattle & King County. "However, TB is a curable and preventable disease."

"We can reduce rates in the future through continued hard work by Public Health and our partners in the health care community," Plough added.

King County has over 100 TB cases per year, which falls within the national average for its population. Antibiotics nearly always lead to a complete cure. Worldwide, however, TB kills about 3 million people each year, more than any other infectious disease.

"We're an international community, and particularly among our immigrant population, there's always a risk of TB," said Dr. Charles Nolan of Public Health's TB Control Program. Screening programs like Public Health's TB Clinic and the Refugee Health Assessment and Referral Program help to prevent future cases of TB.

TB facts

• TB usually involves the lungs (pulmonary TB) but can infect almost any organ in the body.
• TB can spread only from an untreated person with active disease in the lungs who is coughing. TB bacteria from a person's lungs are expelled into the air, and may be inhaled into the lungs of another person.
• The most common symptoms are cough, (usually for more than 3 weeks), cough with blood, tiredness, weight loss, fever, chills and night sweats. These symptoms usually come on gradually over a period of weeks.
• TB is not very infectious. It is much harder to catch than the common cold.
• It is not possible to get TB from sharing a glass with a person with TB or touching a doorknob after someone with TB has used it.

"Public Health's TB Control Program views TB control as a public-private partnership, networking with other local, state, national and international agencies and institutions," said Dr. Stefan Goldberg of Public Health's TB Control Program. "We and our partners try to provide residents of King County the best available prevention and treatment services."

"We know how to cure this disease. We can beat TB," said Astrid Berg, Executive Director of the American Lung Association of Washington.