RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG
Bad Berka (ots)
On World Tuberculosis Day (March 24), the chief physician of the Clinic for Pneumology of the Central Clinic Bad Berka, dr Michael Weber, that tuberculosis continues to exist as a disease in our country. Older people in particular, who experienced the war or post-war period, can have been infected in childhood and adolescence and the disease only breaks out when the immune system is weakened in old age. Prolonged cough, sputum, weight loss, fever and night sweats are the classic symptoms.
Although the majority of those born in East Germany before 1998 were vaccinated against tuberculosis, it is now known that the BCG vaccination does not protect against the disease or further spread. “The course of the disease is also not significantly influenced by the vaccination,” says Dr. weaver. Since 1998, the STIKO (Standing Committee on Vaccination) has no longer recommended tuberculosis vaccination.
Germany is one of the “low-incidence countries” with an average of around 4,000 cases of new infections per year, so that the risk of contracting tuberculosis is very low today. But even in the case of contact with a person suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis, the risk is not high due to the low risk of infection from the germ. “Contact would have to be repeated and over a longer period of time to pose a relevant risk,” says Dr. weaver.
In general, TBC can be treated well with a mixture of antibiotics. The treatment usually lasts at least six months. “However, there are increasing cases of resistance, ie the bacteria are insensitive to various active substances. Such resistant tuberculosis is more complex to treat and the treatment can last up to two years, depending on the resistance situation,” says the chief physician.
The to the association of RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG With its 21 specialist clinics and specialist departments and its more than 120-year history, the central clinic Bad Berka belongs to the large Thuringian clinics. Around 40,000 patients are treated here every year, and the clinic employs 1,800 people. www.zentralklinik.de.
Press contact:
Central Clinic Bad Berka | media and communication
Anke Geyer
T. +49 361 78928019 | [email protected]
Original content from: RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG, transmitted by news aktuell