The Department of Health STD/HIV/TB Program invites residents to register for its annual walk-a-thon in commemoration of World TB Day. The walk-a-thon will begin at 7 a.m. on Saturday, March 24, at Yacht Haven Grande and end at Emile Griffith Ball Park. Lauris Harley, Territorial TB Disease Control and Prevention coordinator at the DOH is organizing the walk-a-thon for the second year to raise awareness about the global epidemic and efforts to eliminate the disease.
Tuberculosis or TB is an infectious disease that normally attacks the lungs but can attack almost any part of the body. It spreads from person to person through the air when a person with active TB coughs, sings or speaks and individuals breathe in the air contaminated with the TB germ, according to a press release issued Tuesday by the V.I. Department of Health.
Signs and symptoms of TB include fatigue, loss of appetite, fever, weight loss, coughing up of blood and night sweats. Residents, who experience these symptoms, should contact a medical provider immediately or a Health Department STD/HIV/TB clinic in their district. Call 774-3168 on St. Thomas or 773-1311 on St. Croix. Clinics are open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays.
For more about World TB Day visit www.cdc.gov/tb/events/WorldTBDay/default.htm. To register for the walk-a-thon or for more information on TB, contact Lauris Harley at 774-0127.
