primary pulmonary tuberculosis

[dad21]

My wife is diagnosed with PRIMARY PTB. She is 24yo, & we have a 2 1/2 yo angel.. Is it contagious? She is the one working & earning money for us while im trying to graduate from college this coming march2009. Im afraid she must stop working and if it happens, it will greatly depress her..
Does she need to stop working? Is PRIMARY PTB CONTAGIOUS? Pls enlighten me..

[zodiacqueen]

Yes, TB is contagious.  I know this because I am training to be an x-ray tech and I am not allowed to be around patients that have TB because they need a special fitted mask to deal with them.  That's what I learned.  I know it can be caught by the airborne route and by droplets.

I am pretty sure that everyone close to her will need to get TB tests and chest x-rrays yearly.  You also need to contact her doctor to get more advice.  If I were you, I'd write down a list of questions to ask so you don't forget anything.  You must find out how to protect you and your baby and anyone else she's around.

Don't worry too much, she must be doing pretty well since she''s not in the hospital for treatment.  She'll be on antibiotics for a long time, but she'll be fine.

Good luck to you

PS-Your local health dept probably has alot of info booklets that may be helpful, and they also do TB testing.  That's where I had my first TB skin test-gotta do it every year for the medical field.