For the past 15 years, the Athens County Tuberculosis Board has partnered with the Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine to provide TB prevention services to Athens County residents.
A tax levy of about $1.75 million, renewed yearly, provides funds for free skin tests and chest X-rays, board president Warren Haydon said.
It's still out there
he said. Athens is somewhat at risk. You have foreign students that come in and professors that travel around the world.
TB kills more people worldwide than AIDS each year, Haydon said.
Clinics conducted by OU-COM that test people for TB are held at least once every month and up to 46 times a year.
During Fall Quarter, about 2,000 students took a skin test, and approximately 40 percent tested positive, said Beth Brown, a registered nurse who works in the program.
Of those infected, about 10 percent will contract the disease, she said.
People who are diagnosed with TB are referred to the Athens City/County Health Department. Patients are evaluated, and necessary medicine is prescribed. Only about 5 percent of the disease potentially is harmful, said Pat Blaschak, director of nurses.
Medicine needs to be taken every day for six months to a year by those who have contracted the disease.
The goal of the program is to prevent the disease from becoming prevalent in the community board member Ann Fugate said.
Previously, the clinic in OU-COM provided facilities and tests. But when the clinic privatized in July, the board was forced to make a new contract with OU-COM, Haydon said. Contracts now are made with Community Services in OU-COM.
In addition to prevention and treatment programs, the TB board also has an education program, Fugate said. The goal of the education program is to inform people of clinics and treatment options.
The program is voluntary for OU students.
The members of the TB Board are appointed by the Athens County Commissioners. The board consists of two members and the president.
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