EDUCATING OUR COMMUNITY ONE PERSON AT A TIME
ABOUT US
Our Mission
The mission of the South Carolina Tuberculosis Association is to promote and assist in the elimination of Tuberculosis through education, collaboration, research and practice.
The SCTBA, originally chartered in 1917, is a 501(c)3 organization recognized by the South Carolina Secretary of State's Office and the IRS.
Challenges
Covid-19 brought increased awareness of public health worldwide. As a respiratory infection, increases in tuberculosis point out the need for more public education.
With the upsurge in immigration from countries with different health emphasis and immunization requirements, it becomes imperative for health care workers to screen for TB.
Competition for public funds puts resources for TB control and research at risk.
World TB Day
Each year, we recognize World TB Day on March 24. This annual event commemorates the date in 1882 when Dr. Robert Koch announced his discovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacillus that causes tuberculosis (TB).
World TB Day is a day to educate the public about the impact of TB around the world. CDC, along with our partners and colleagues around the world share successes in TB prevention and control, and raise awareness of the challenges that hinder our progress toward the elimination of this devastating disease.
PROGRAMS
ALTERNATIVE HOUSING program
The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control TB Dvision and the SCTBA have joined together in order to provide monetary funds for South Carolina TB Nurses so they may purchase necessary items (i.e. food and personal care) for authorized TB patients. This program assists in the health and well-being of TB Patients in South Carolina.
TB Awareness mini grants
The South Carolina Tuberculosis Association has created the TB Awareness Program in order for other non-profit organizations and/or churches to partner in a cooperative effort to create awareness of tuberculosis as a crippling disease affecting communities around the state of South Carolina. Our program provides grants in amounts of $500 or $2,000 to organizations that will manage a project centered on publicizing and educating the public about what tuberculosis disease is, how it is spread, identification of a tuberculosis-infected individual and/or treatment options available to the general population.
We do not require matching funds, only in-kind expenditures of your staff and other volunteers in the planning, organizing, directing and controlling of the project.
South Carolina Tuberculosis Association was originally formed in 1917 to provide the people of South Carolina with educational information about the cause and spread of the disease tuberculosis. In addition, the Association obtained and disseminated information regarding preventative methods and plans that provided better living conditions for individuals with the disease in the community. For the future, we envision building upon our collaborative success by developing additional funding opportunities that will work toward the eradication of this dreaded disease.
For more information regarding grant applications or the Alternative Housing Program, please contact Rita Bowles via E-mail: Rita@RitaBowles.com.
1917
101
59 vs 42
43% vs 57%
Year Established
Number of TB cases in SC in 2022
# of TB cases occurring among males vs females (2022)
% of Non-US born vs US Born (2022)
ABOUT TB
Tuberculosis (often called TB) is an infectious disease that usually attacks the lungs, but can attack almost any part of the body. Tuberculosis is spread from person to person through the air. When people with TB in their lungs or throat cough, laugh, sneeze, sing, or even talk, the germs that cause TB may spread throughout the air. If another person breathes in these germs there is a chance that they will become infected with tuberculosis. Repeated contact is usually required for infection.
It is important to understand that there is a difference between being infected with TB and having TB disease. Someone who is infected with TB has the TB germs, or bacteria, in their body. The body's defenses are protecting them from the germs and they are not sick. Someone with TB disease is sick and can spread the disease to other people. A person with TB disease needs to see a doctor as soon as possible.
It is not easy to become infected with tuberculosis. Usually a person has to be close to someone with TB disease for a long period of time. TB is usually spread between family members, close friends, and people who work or live together. TB is spread most easily in closed spaces over a long period of time. However, transmission in an airplane, although rare, has been documented.
Even if someone becomes infected with tuberculosis, that does not mean they will get TB disease. Most people who become infected do not develop TB disease because their body's defenses protect them. Most active cases of TB disease result from activating old infection in people with impaired immune systems.
Someone in the world is newly infected with TB bacilli every second and one-third of the world’s population is currently infected with TB. Only about 10 percent of these people will develop TB disease in their lifetime. The other 90 percent will never get sick from the TB germs or be able to spread them to other people.
TB Services Provided by the State of South Carolina
Tuberculosis Control protects the public through case finding, treating both active tuberculosis disease and latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI), identification and testing of individuals exposed to tuberculosis, and targeted evaluation of persons at high risk of progression to tuberculosis disease.
Tuberculosis Control offers the following services:
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Prescribed medications
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Physician services
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Outpatient hospital services
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Public health clinics
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Laboratory
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Radiology
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Case Management
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Reaching the goal of TB elimination in the United States requires maintaining and strengthening current TB control priorities while increasing efforts to identify and treat latent TB infection among high-risk populations.
CONTACT
Inquiries
The SCTBA is an all-volunteer association
headquartered in the Columbia SC area. For any inquiries, questions or commendations, please call us at (803) 351-3242 or fill out the following form