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Health & Nutrition
Tuberculosis - a Common Medical Condition in Peru
By Connie Estrada

Tuberculosis is quite common in most of the developing world, and is endemic in Peru. Tuberculosis is airborne, transmitted as a respiratory disease, and it enters the lungs. It may stay there, or on rare occasions it may migrate to any part of the body. In most cases, you must have prolonged personal contact with an infected person before you can become infected. Furthermore, people may be quite infectious but appear perfectly healthy. As a result of this, most cases of tuberculosis found in the American-Canadian population come from household help who do not appear to be sick. A person with tuberculosis may have a persistant cough, unexplained fever, night sweats, weight loss, or other signs of a persistant infection.

It is possible to discover this infection at a very early stage because of the TB skin test, or PPD. When living in a country where tuberculosis is endemic, an annual test is recommended. This reveals a very early infection before it poses any real risk to the person and their family. This test is given at many labs in town, and it is not expensive. (It costs 20 soles at one of the best labs in town.) The Ministry of Health also gives the TB test.

To prevent tuberculosis, make sure that your household help (especially those working with small children) have an annual physical exam that includes a TB skin test or a chest x-ray. They should have a chest x-ray if they develop any symptoms that suggest tuberculosis. It is worth the cost, as it is important to make sure that your household help are healthy and do not present a risk to you and your family. Discharge anyone who has been diagnosed as having active tuberculosis until they have been determined to be no longer infectious. The individual can return to work once his/her sputum culture no longer shows infection.

(The source for this article was the "Health and Medical Information Booklet" from the American Embassy, Lima, Peru. It is also based on my years of medical experience in Philadelphia and in Lima.)

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