Jakarta (ANTARA) – Dimas Dwi Saputro, pediatrician at Harapan Kita Mother and Children Hospital, has warned that children may have the potential to transmit tuberculosis (TB), which can be transmitted through droplet or splashes of saliva, similar to the transmission of COVID-19.
In a virtual discussion on Health Radio of the Ministry of Health (Kemenkes), followed by Jakarta on Thursday, Dimas explained that tuberculosis is caused by an infection with the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis which generally attacks the lungs, although it can affect other parts of the lung as well. body.
“It is usually transmitted through droplet or tiny squirts, very small squirts of saliva, about less than five microns. This very small size makes it easy to enter our lungs from our airways and enter our lung organs directly,” she said.
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Bacteria that cause tuberculosis that can be funneled droplet it also spreads easily by air, given its small size, similar to the mode of transmission of COVID-19 caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
“The difference is, if you get COVID-19 now, you’ll get sick tomorrow. But if you get TB now, you can get sick for another two to four weeks, even up to a year,” he explained.
This can happen because the bacteria that cause tuberculosis silently infect the body.
As for transmission to children, he said the possibility of it occurring isn’t just through close contact, such as kissing a baby. However, it can happen when you are around someone who has tuberculosis.
Young children infected with tuberculosis, he explained, indicated that there was local transmission of the bacteria. Remember droplet containing tuberculosis bacteria can remain in the air for at least four hours.
“When a young child gets TB, they get it from someone who has TB, most often it’s an adult. So if a child has TB, it’s very, very rarely passed on to other young children, but they can get it by adults,” Dimas said.
Read also: School-age children are a group at high risk of contracting tuberculosis
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The government continues to push for the eradication of tuberculosis from the country. Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said in November 2022 that TB testing should reach 60,000 cases per month from the beginning of this year to support TB elimination by 2030.
The exam needs to be improved considering the rate is still low. According to data from the Ministry of Health, of the target of 969 thousand cases of tuberculosis in 2021, only 50-60 percent have been found, or about 500-600 thousand cases.
Journalist: Prisca Triferna Violleta
Publisher: Endang Sukarelawati
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