TB
Latent (Sleeping) TB
Pictures & Pages/Related Info
Latent TB Pathway (pg. 4)
Finding & Treating TB Early: Benefits for You (Red Book pg. 9)
Finding & Treating TB Early: Benefits for Loved Ones (pg. Red Book 11)
Contact to Latent to Active TB
Screening for Latent & Active TB
What is it?
The TB Germs are in the body but are controlled or ‘put to sleep’ by the body. The person does not have symptoms and is not contagious.
So why is Sleeping TB a problem?
Sleeping TB can ‘wake up’ and become Active TB! Sleeping TB is most likely to become Active TB in the first 2 years after the TB bacteria has entered the body. If untreated, Sleeping TB can sleep in the body for life. Sleeping TB can ‘wake up’ at any time and make the person sick and TB can spread.
NO Symptoms
Someone with Latent TB might have symptoms from another sickness (like a cough from a cold).
NOT Contagious
Because Sleeping TB is not contagious, there is NO isolation.
Treatment is NOT mandatory but highly, highly ENCOURAGED.
Patients should be aware that they have a right to refuse (or a right to say no to) Latent TB treatment.
We encourage Latent TB treatment because:
Getting treated means TB will not ‘wake up’ and become Active TB later.
No Active TB means the person’s health is protected and there is no long-term damage to the body.
It’s a shorter treatment compared to Active TB treatment.
Latent TB treatment is less pills compared to Active TB treatment.
Latent TB treatment clears TB from someone’s body before they can become contagious. This helps protect family, friends, and the community from TB.
Children
Children's (under 5 years old) bodies are not as strong in fighting the TB bacteria. The younger the child the more danger of Latent TB becoming Active TB. That is why we really encourage kids to take treatment for Sleeping TB.
This is how the 'sleeping' TB germ (Latent TB) ‘wakes up’ (Activation) and causes disease (Active TB).
Latent TB | ||
|---|---|---|
The TB germ is in the body | ✓ | Bacteria are sleeping and not causing damage. |
Is the Skin Test ‘Positive’? | ✓ or X | Most of the time the skin test shows the infection after someone has breathed in the TB germ (‘positive’). But TB is sneaky so sometimes the skin test is ‘negative’ even though there are TB germs in the body. |
Symptoms | X | A person could have symptoms from another infection such as cold or flu. |
Contagious | X | |
Treatment | ✓ | ENCOURAGED |
Isolation | X | |
Example conversation with someone (adult) who has just been told they have Sleeping TB:
Reassure
Okay so now we’re going to talk a bit about Sleeping TB specifically. You probably know some of this stuff already but I’m going to cover a bit of everything and if you have more questions, we can try and figure it out together. Sounds good?
What/Why
In the body Sleeping TB just like the name sounds is when the TB bacteria are in your body, but your body has put them to ‘sleep’ . The TB bacteria are not causing any harm so you aren’t sick, and you also can’t spread TB to other people.
The trouble with Sleeping TB is that it could ‘wake up’ and become Active TB at any time. When it’s Active TB, you could become sick and contagious (spreading to others). So, it’s a bit tricky because you don’t know when it might happen.
Treatment
You can be treated for Sleeping TB and it will get rid of the TB bacteria from your body. This way you won’t need to worry about it ‘waking up’ later or about spreading TB to loved ones.
We usually recommend that people take Sleeping TB treatment because you won’t have that worry about TB ‘waking up’ or any sickness or damage that the TB might cause.
Also, the treatment is shorter and less pills than the Active TB treatment.