TB Health Video

Tuberculosis, or TB, is a dangerous infectious disease commonly targeting the lungs and caused by mycobacteria. Learn more about TB including treatments and symptoms in this medical video.

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Dr. Ulrich joined On Call Medical Group in 2006. She had previously practiced at Doctors Medical Center in Richmond, Calif., and prior to that worked with the uninsured and homeless population of San Francisco at the Haight Ashbury Free Medical Clinic. Throughout her medical career, Dr. Ulrich as also been involved in numerous medical research studies. Dr. Ulrich holds a B.S. from Harvard University, an M.P.H. for the University of California at Berkeley, and an M.D. from the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.

SKYLAR ULRICH, MD: I'm Dr. Skylar Ulrich. I'm talking about TB. TB is a mycobacterium which is the most common cause of infectious death in adults worldwide. It typically affects the pulmonary system but can affect any organ system. Symptoms of TB infection depend on the area of the body which has been infected. Typically, in pulmonary tuberculosis, the symptoms will be cough which is productive, night sweats, fever, weight loss, and malaise. The treatment of tuberculosis depends on the organ system that is involved. In pulmonary tuberculosis, the treatment typically involves a four-drug regimen which is aimed at preventing and treating multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. The drugs are usually taken from six months to a year. Prevention of TB involves screening at-risk adults. This is done by inserting a PPD in the forearm of at-risk adults, and then checking the PPD reaction two days later to see if the individual has been exposed to tuberculosis. Any positive PPD skin test should be followed up with a chest x-ray to see if the pulmonary system is involved which would indicate active TB infection versus simply exposure to TB. Prevention also involves isolating cases of TB so that the infection is not spread, because it is spread from person-to-person contact. So isolating cases, once they are identified, is essential to preventing the spread of tuberculosis.

TB Health Video

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