YIS- PROPOSAL 1

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CATEGORY: Infectious Disease & Immunization

TOPIC 2: Tuberculosis Prevention and Screening

Student Name: Yisell Gonzalez

Institution: Florida National University Course: Health Promotion & Role Development in Adv. Nursing Practice

Professor: Nora Hernandez Pupo Date: May 14, 2026

Tuberculosis Prevention and Screening

Health Impact of Tuberculosis

TB is caused by bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis which usually affects the lungs’ tissues but can also grow to infect other parts of the body. TB is easily transmitted when people are in confined areas, through the air spread from the droplets from a person with TB when they cough, sneeze or talk. Some of the symptoms of this disease include; coughing, chest pain, fever, night sweats, weight loss and fatigue. If left untreated TB can lead to severe damage to the lungs eventually leading to death. This condition has become a significant public health problem due to its high transmissibility, rising drug resistance and its impact on vulnerable groups. Prevention strategies and early screening and treatment will be an important pillar to reduce tuberculosis transmission, and maximize health outcomes.

Tb Global Relevance

According to the World Health Organization, 10.6 million people were dragonized with TB while almost 1.3 million people died of TB without HIV infection in 2022 (Bague, 2024). Low and middle-income countries are still struggling with the disease because of the lack of access to health services, poverty, malnutrition and overcrowding. TB is one of the major health disorders, with the highest number of cases reported every year from areas in Africa and South Asia.

Multi-drug-resistant (MDR-TB) is another challenge faced by the tuberculosis prevention and treatment (Dheda et al., 2024). Drug-resistant strains develop as the result of the patient not completing his or her drug regimen or through mis-prescription of the drug. The unavailability of screening, laboratory testing and effective medicines is a challenge in health systems in many countries. Nationally and internationally, immunization, public health education and screening programs are performed to mitigate a spread of the epidemic and also to promote early diagnosis. There will be a need for collaboration between countries to contribute to strengthening health systems and further efforts to eradicate tuberculosis from the world.

National Relevance of Tuberculosis.

Although TB prevalence rates in the U.S. are less than those of many developing nations, the TB epidemic remains a public health concern in the U.S. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) over 9,000 people with tuberculosis (TB) in the past few years in the United States (Williams, 2024). Some groups can be more susceptible to infection, such as persons with weakened immune function, persons without housing, persons recently arrived from countries with high rates of infection or persons living in close settings. Those with HIV infection, diabetes, smoking, and those who use drugs also have a higher risk of having active tuberculosis disease.

The prevention of TB is also an integral component of the country's TB strategies and focuses on screening, vaccination of high-risk groups and early treatment. Screening for TB should be done routinely in health care providers, schools, corrections facilities and in persons who are at high risk for TB. A blood test that looks for the antigens (substances) associated with TB in the bloodstream, but does not give the disease itself, is used to recognize potential latent TB before it becomes active and is referred to as screening. The access to health care and diagnosis and treatment has improved but there remain challenges due to late diagnosis, poor adherence to diagnosis and treatment and access to health care. It is essential to develop ongoing educational and outreach programs to help stop transmission across the country.

Local Relevance and Community Perspective.

TB has a local impact on the burden of disease on a community's demand for health care, hospital admission and public health TB management at a local level. High TB transmission risks include overcrowding, lack of health care and poor-quality housing experienced by many people within the community. Overcrowding, shelters and correctional centers increase the risk for the spread of airborne diseases. Also, if the diagnosis is delayed there may also be a higher risk of spreading the infection to other members of the household or to anyone in the household or workplace or at school.

Prevention/screening for TB is of paramount importance and needs to be a community responsibility that is embraced by local health and community providers. Education about the signs and symptoms of TB, modes of transmission and ways to prevent TB via community clinics, schools, public health departments is very critical (Isangula et al., 2023). The strategy of conducting preemptive screening and conducting contact tracing can be effective to identify the infected persons and reach out to them before an outbreak occurs. There are a lot of things people can do at the community level to improve the incidence of tuberculosis, such as to increase the level of ventilation, the use of treatment services and to decrease the stigma.

Prevention Strategies

The ongoing spread of TB worldwide, nationally, and locally emphasizes the need to have robust premises and surveillance. Public health programs with a focus on early case finding, monitoring, vaccination and adherence of TB treatment are required to control TB. More health care, better conditions in the community and the education they receive will make a huge difference in the number of people infected and also improve the patient outcomes. This is because a coordinated action between the healthcare systems, governments and communities is needed in order to prevent future outbreaks and to reduce the burden of tuberculosis in the countries affected.

References

Bague, D. A. (2024).  Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of FR900098 Inhibitor Analogs as Antimicrobials (Doctoral dissertation, The George Washington University). https://www.proquest.com/openview/29e001a3f32c5a13f4b6db07b1310ada/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y

Dheda, K., Mirzayev, F., Cirillo, D. M., Udwadia, Z., Dooley, K. E., Chang, K.-C., Omar, S. V., Reuter, A., Perumal, T., Horsburgh, C. R., Murray, M., & Lange, C. (2024). Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. Nature Reviews Disease Primers, 10(1), 1–27. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41572-024-00504-2

Isangula, K., Philbert, D., Ngari, F., Ajeme, T., Kimaro, G., Yimer, G., Mnyambwa, N. P., Muttamba, W., Najjingo, I., Wilfred, A., Mshiu, J., Kirenga, B., Wandiga, S., Mmbaga, B. T., Donard, F., Okelloh, D., Mtesha, B., Mohammed, H., Semvua, H., & Ngocho, J. (2023). Implementation of evidence-based multiple focus integrated intensified TB screening to end TB (EXIT-TB) package in East Africa: a qualitative study. BMC Infectious Diseases, 23(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12879-023-08069-3

Williams, P. M. (2024). Tuberculosis — United States, 2023. MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 73(12). https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7312a4