| Myth: Tuberculosis is hereditary. |
Fact: Tuberculosis is NOT hereditary. It
is a lung disease transmitted through the air by sneezing,
coughing or even talking. |
| Myth: Tuberculosis can
be transmitted through sharing utensils |
Fact: TB is
transmittable through airborne route. From untreated
infectious TB patients. Hence, treating patients with
infectious TB through DOTS will break transmission. |
| Myth: Tuberculosis
disease and Tuberculosis infection mean the same thing. |
Fact: A person with a
tuberculosis infection is a person who has acquired the
disease through inhalation of the bacteria, Mycobacterium
tuberculosis, but has no clinical disease and is not
contagious. A person with tuberculosis disease has
radiographic findings of lung destruction (or abnormalities
in other organs) and may excrete the bacteria in their
sputum or even their breath and are contagious. |
| Myth: Tuberculosis
infection will always develop into Tuberculosis Disease. |
Fact: A tuberculosis
infection does not always develop into tuberculosis disease.
People with weakened immune systems, such as the very young
and very old, persons with cancer or HIV are more likely to
develop active diseases once infected. |
| Myth: A positive skin
test means you have TB. |
Fact: A positive TB
skin test only confirms that you have been exposed to
tuberculosis, but does not necessarily indicate that you
have TB disease. |
| Myth: Tuberculosis
only occurs in poor communities. |
Fact: Although TB is
more common among the urban-poor, TB can be contracted by
anyone even among the rich. |
| Myth: Pollution
contributes to the TB prevalence in the Philippines. |
Fact: Living in a
house with poor ventilation with an infectious TB patient
and cigarette smoking are risk factors for TB. |
| Myth: HIV/AIDS and
tuberculosis are unrelated. |
Fact: HIV/AIDS can
increase the likelihood of developing active TB. In the
Philippines, TB is the main cause of death among people with
HIV/AIDS. |
| Myth: Tuberculosis
cannot be cured. |
Fact: TB is curable
and DOTS (directly observed treatment, short-course) is
proven to be the most successful treatment strategy. |
