08-02-2020, 03:04 AM
(08-01-2020, 10:42 PM)Mer Wrote: True. According to the CDC we have 13M latent cases. God forbid it should all start affecting those folks at the same time.
Well, you’re question was why don’t we wear masks for TB. The answer is we do. We definitely do. We wear N95 masks when around active TB. Latent TB isn’t contagious and that’s why there isn’t a need for masks when around people with latent TB.
Latent TB does affecting all 13M of those patients because they are infected, but they just don’t have active TB and aren’t capable of transmitting it to others through normal everyday contact at school or work. The chance of latent TB becoming active TB is roughly 5-10% over their lifetime. So the chance of 13M cases of latent TB becoming active TB at the same time is nominal. Or so low that we can completely ignore that infinitesimal chance. But, (god forbid), they did (which they won’t) then we would need to wear masks. And not just surgical masks, but N95 masks designed to prevent infection from TB.
Additionally, unlike Covid 19, we can offer patients with latent TB antibiotic prophylaxis to reduce that 5-10% chance of developing active TB to as close to 0% as possible.
All of this information is readily available and easy to understand for any science teacher. If that biological MD/science teacher really was a science teacher. So why do I need to keep explaining all this science stuff to you? Because I get this distinct and strong feeling that you don’t understand it.
