FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 14, 2025
CONTACT: shd.pio@co.snohomish.wa.us
Snohomish County Board of Health Signs World Tuberculosis Day Proclamation
March 24, 2025, is World Tuberculosis Day in Snohomish County and all county residents are encouraged to become aware of this infectious disease, symptoms and prevention.
SNOHOMISH COUNTY, Wash. – The Snohomish County Board of Health this week adopted a proclamation to commemorate World Tuberculosis Day on March 24.
March 24 marks the day in 1882 when Dr. Robert Koch announced he had discovered the bacterium that causes the disease, which opened doors to diagnose and cure. Despite the historical nature of the disease, tuberculosis is still a major threat, killing 1.25 million people worldwide in 2023, surpassing COVID-19 as the leading cause of death from a single infection.
The Snohomish County Health Department has an active tuberculosis (TB) program that provides diagnosis, treatment and testing. The goal is to provide trauma informed and culturally competent care to persons infected with TB, with little or no barriers, and to prevent the spread of TB within Snohomish County.
In 2024, the county TB program, along with community partners, cared for 50 people with TB diagnoses; 30 were newly confirmed cases. The county identified 254 people as close contacts. Symptoms of tuberculosis include an on-going cough lasting longer than 3 weeks, fever, fatigue, weight loss, and coughing up blood. Those at highest risk for the disease include people who live with someone who has TB, people who travel to, or were born in, places with high rates of TB, and people who have underlying health problems.
“We are proud to be able to prevent and treat TB here in Snohomish County,” said Teresa Rugg, tuberculosis program supervisor for the Health Department. “We also recognize the stigma that this disease presents locally and globally. We believe it is important to know the facts about TB and create understanding that we support one another, striving to become a healthier community.”
The World Health Organization fears that federal funding cuts to global TB prevention and treatment efforts could reverse decades of progress and endanger millions of lives.
TB is spread through the air by coughing, sneezing, yelling, or singing. There are two stages of TB – the inactive stage where a person has been infected by the bacteria but is not sick and cannot spread TB, and an active stage where the person feels sick and may spread the disease to others if the bacteria is in the lungs.
When someone in Snohomish County is diagnosed with active pulmonary TB that is contagious, the Health Department provides testing for anyone considered exposed. If a person believes they have had a significant exposure to someone with active pulmonary TB who is contagious and have not been contacted already by the Health Department, they may consider discussing concerns with their medical care provider.
The county will feature a display on TB during the last week of March in the Admin West building, of the county complex, 3000 Rockefeller Avenue, Everett.
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