I am getting tested for TB

Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India
room 2223 Apollo Hospital

I am getting tested for TB

I admitted myself to Apollo Hospital last night. After getting set up in my room I was taken to a nearby facility for a CT scan at 10.30pm.

This morning both doctors came to see me. They are going to test me for tuberculosis. The doctor tells me that one in ten Indians has tuberculosis. They tell me they don't usually find it in foreigners because foreigners usually have a strong resistance to it.

Lonely Planet Healthy Travel:Asia & India tells me that tuberculosis is a growing problem in Asia and India. It is actually borne back to the U.K. via young South Asians visiting family. It is transmitted via the air, from people coughing or spitting, or in a special case via unpasteurized milk.

They are going to conduct three tests on me: one a test on my morning sputum; the second a skin test that reacts after forty-eight hours; and the third an invasive extraction of fluid from the lungs.

I was initially startled when told they were going to test me for TB. But the evidence points toward it. The treatment is a six-month course of antibiotic tablets which can be taken while living a normal lifestyle.

I am getting tested for TB