Active TB

The TB germs are present and harming the body. A person with Active TB can feel sick and may be able to spread TB through the air.

Anaphylaxis

A very rare, but severe allergic reaction. Anaphylaxis, or anaphylactic shock, can be life threatening if not taken care of quickly. Even though it is rare, this is why we ask people to wait at the clinic 15 minutes after they get their skin test.

Antibiotic

Prescribed by a doctor or nurse to treat a bacterial infection. Different antibiotics can kill different bacteria, so TB treatment has a particular combination of antibiotics.

Asymptomatic

The opposite of symptomatic. When someone shows no or mild symptoms (no feelings in the body that are different than normal). People who have Latent TB, and some people who have Active TB do not show any symptoms which is why it can be harder to find TB and why screening is really important.

Bacteria

A tiny living thing, unseen to the naked eye. There are billions of different kinds of bacteria. Many are not harmful to humans and in fact are important to our health (often called ‘good bacteria’). Some, like the bacteria that causes TB, can cause damage to the human body.

Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) Vaccine

The only vaccine that offers some TB protection. It is recommended for all babies in Nunavik because babies’ bodies are not as good at stopping TB germs from spreading to other parts of the body (including to the brain). The BCG vaccine helps make sure that if a baby gets Active TB, it won’t spread to other places in the body. The BCG vaccine is not usually recommended for teens or adults.

Blood Test

Done to look for TB bacteria in the body or to monitor the body’s response to TB treatment. The nurse will insert a needle (usually into the person’s arm) and draw some blood. See Blood Test

Cardex

An online Excel file that shows the TB team what patients should be seen that week and keeps track of future follow ups. It is important to be careful when adding information to the Kardex because it can impact people’s medical information and future medical care.

Clinical Evaluation

Done to help decide if someone should have further TB tests. The nurse will ask some questions about a person’s health, weigh them, listen to their lungs, and feel their neck for swelling. See Clinical Evaluation.

Community Education

Providing health information to the village in a way that can be more easily understood. The goal of community education is often increasing awareness and understanding of complex health issues. Examples could be posters, FB posts, radio sessions, and community events.

Community Screening

Community Screening is when a large group (could be the whole village) is asked to take part in being tested for Active or Latent TB, even though they might not have any symptoms. Community Screening helps find TB that may have been missed and is an important way of helping a community become TB-free.

Compliance Curve (Observance Curve)

Used in Latent TB treatment to track the number of doses (days of pills) a person has taken. A person must have taken a certain number of doses over a certain period to have their treatment considered acceptable.

Confidentiality

Respecting a person’s right to control who they share their personal health information with. Healthcare workers have moral and legal reasons for respecting confidentiality.

Contact Person

A person who might have breathed in the TB bacteria (because they were around someone during the contagious phase of Active TB) and is being offered Latent or Active TB screening tests.

Contact Screening (Contact Tracing)

The TB team will ask someone newly told they have Active TB to name people they have been spending time with. This is so that the TB team can offer Latent or Active TB screening to the people who may have breathed in the TB bacteria.

Contagious

When a disease can spread to other people. Only Active TB is contagious, and people stop being contagious days or weeks after they start treatment.

Culture

This is when someone’s spit is mixed in a special bottle to see if there is TB in the spit. It can take many weeks before the TB shows up. It is one of the best tests to know if someone has Active TB.

Diagnosis

The process of finding out if someone has the TB bacteria in their body. It often takes a few different tests to determine if someone is TB-free or has Latent or Active TB.

Directly Observed Therapy (DOT)

When someone watches a person take their TB pills. This is done to make sure that all the pills are taken each day. Missing many days can mean a higher chance of the antibiotics not working and the person becoming sick and able to spread TB again.

Dose

This can have different meanings. Sometimes, dose means the amount of a medicine in grams or milligrams. Sometimes a dose means all the TB antibiotics that are supposed to be taken in 1 day. Ex: a person missing 1 day of Active TB treatment would also be missing 1 dose of the antibiotics.

Drug

When talking about TB, this is generally another word for antibiotic. It can also be a general word for pill.

Drug Resistance

Also called antibiotic resistance. This is when an antibiotic can no longer kill the bacteria. This makes TB much more difficult to treat. Drug resistance can happen when patients start and stop treatment for longer periods. Thankfully in Nunavik, we have not seen much drug resistance and we want to keep it that way!

Drug Resistant TB

When the TB bacteria can’t be killed by the usual antibiotics anymore.

Drug Susceptible

The opposite of “Drug Resistance”. When an antibiotic can kill the bacteria.

Extrapulmonary TB

Active TB in parts of the body outside of the lungs. This can happen around the brain, in the bones, in the spine, in the belly, in the neck, and in the kidneys. Almost anywhere in the body!

GeneXpert or TB PCR

This is when someone’s spit is placed in a special machine that tells us if there are TB germs there. It is a test for Active TB. It usually takes a few days to get the result.

Incentives

Offering benefits to make it easier for people to come to the clinic or take their treatment. Having incentives recognizes that screening for TB and taking TB treatment can be hard on people and their families. Examples of incentives include COOP vouchers, offering rides, grocery shopping or other prizes.

Isolation

When someone who is contagious is separated from other people (as much as reasonable) to avoid spreading the TB germ to their loved ones and the community.

Latent TB

Also called Sleeping TB or TB Infection. The TB germs are present in the body but are not causing harm to the body. The person is not sick and can’t spread TB to other people.

Microbiology

The study of tiny living things, so small you need a microscope (super zoom) to see them. This area includes the study of bacteria.

Monitor 

To keep track of or to be particularly on the lookout for changes in health.

Patient

A person who is receiving care and/or being treated by the health team.

PPE (Personal Protective Equipment)

Things that people or healthcare workers wear to protect themselves from getting sick. This can be things like face masks or gloves.

Precautionary

Screening, treatment or care that is done when there is the possibility of disease, but it is not yet confirmed. Precautionary actions are often done to give more time to find more information, to prevent serious disease, and/or to prevent surprise disease down the road.

Prescription

The word “prescription” is often used when talking about the amount and kind of medicine needed or the time of treatment. Ex: someone is prescribed 600 milligrams of the antibiotic rifampicin for 4 months.

Prevention

Providing care or treatment to someone who is not yet sick in the hopes of that illness can be avoided. Personal protective equipment (PPE) is also a prevention method.

Pulmonary TB

Active TB in the lungs.

Reinfection

When someone who had Sleeping TB or Active TB before breathes in new TB germs into their body.

Routine

The standard way something is done. It is often repeated many times.

Screening

Another way to say: “searching for”. The word “screening” can be used in different ways. A single person can be screened for TB, meaning they are taking the tests to see if they have TB their body. A community can also be screened (‘Community Screening’), where many members of the community are asked to come for TB testing.

Side Effect

An unwanted effect of taking medicine, taking a test, or receiving a vaccine. A side effect can be helpful, neutral or harming to the body, but generally we are most concerned with harmful side effects.

Significant Result

More often called a “positive test result”. Used to describe a test result. A significant or positive test result usually means a person may have TB. Ex: a significant skin test means that the person has TB germs in their body.

SI-PMI (Système d’information pour la protection de maladies infectieuses)

An online way for doctors and nurses to check the vaccines (and other health information) a person might have gotten in the past.

Skin Test

Done to look for the TB bacteria in the body. The nurse will insert a needle just below the skin and make a little bubble filled with liquid. The person will need to come back in 2-3 days to have their test read by the nurse. See Skin Test

Sleeping TB

See “Latent TB” above in the glossary or Latent TB.

Smear

Also called Frottis. This is when someone’s spit test is looked at under a microscope (a camera with a big zoom) that can see the TB bacteria. When the TB bacteria can be seen, it usually means that the person is more contagious. Some people have Active TB even when no bacteria are seen under the microscope.

Spit Test

Done to look for TB bacteria in the body. The nurse will ask the person to breathe in a mist that will make the person cough hard. The person will cough sputum (spit from deep in the lungs) into a cup which will be sent away for testing. See Spit Test.

Symptom

A body feeling that is different from how a person is used to feeling.  Symptoms can be a way that the body shows that the TB germ is in there. Symptoms of TB include coughing more than usual, not wanting to eat, feeling cold and hot (fever), coughing up blood, weight loss, and sweating a lot at nighttime.

Symptomatic

When a person has some of the TB symptoms (feelings in the body that are different than normal). The nurse/doctor will decide if someone’s symptoms mean they should do a skin test, X-ray, or spit test to look for the TB bacteria in the body.

TB Care

Used generally to talk about all the different kinds of care someone could receive that is related to TB. Screening/diagnosis, treatment, and supporting people are all important parts of TB care.

TB Meningitis

A type of extrapulmonary TB where Active TB is around the brain. This can be very dangerous to the person’s life.

Treatment

The medical care given to cure an illness and/or make the person feel better. Treatment for TB involves antibiotics to get rid of the TB bacteria from the body and supporting the person who is taking the antibiotics. PHOs, doctors, and nurses are all there to help the person manage the physical, mental, emotional, and social challenges of TB.

Vaccine

A shot that is given to prepare your body to fight against a particular germ. The TB vaccine is called BCG. BCG is important for babies because when babies get Active TB, it can go quickly to other places in the body, including the brain. The BCG vaccine helps make sure that if a baby gets Active TB, it won’t spread to other places in the body.

Ventilation

Moving ‘fresh’ or ‘cleaned’ air into a room. Ventilation is important for moving TB out of the air, so it isn’t breathed in by other people. The clinic usually has a room for doing spit tests with a large ventilation machine. There might be smaller machines in other rooms to help move the air around after seeing patients.

Window Period Treatment

Also called Prophylactic Window Period. The treatment given to young children and babies who have been around someone who was in the contagious phase of Active TB. This treatment is given to prevent more harmful TB from spreading in the body and is stopped when it can be confirmed that there are no TB germs in the child/baby.

X-ray

X-ray is a way to take a picture of inside the body. Done to look for signs of TB causing damage to the body (usually looking in the lungs). See X-ray.