Tuberculosis : An Infectious Disease

Tuberculosis is caused by the bacteria “Mycobacterium Tuberculosis” and is mainly causes infection of the lungs (WHO, 2016). Its mode of transmission is airborne, so it can be passed on by inhalation of airborne droplets which carrying the bacteria, when an infected patient coughs, sneezes, or spits the TB germs into the air (WHO, 1026). Among the symptoms of active TB are: cough with sputum and blood, chest pains, weakness, fever and night sweats (WHO, 2016). Most at risk to get the TB infection are people with weakened immune system such as people who are suffering from chronic diseases such as diabetes mellitus, severe kidney disease, silicosis and especially HIV infection (CDC, 2016). Children and Tobacco users are also at greater risk to fall ill with TB.

Tuberculosis or TB is a bacterial infection that spreads through the bloodstream and is commonly found in the lungs (webMD.com). This infection is highly contagious can spread rapidly through air, but remain undetected because the bacteria can live in the body in an inactive form (webMD.com). This disease originated in Russian prisons, where inmates would be malnourished, alcoholics, and smokers (Willumsen & Shinefield, 2001). Since the bacteria lives in the body in the inactive form, people who are exposed and may have TB never develops any symptoms (webMD.com). The bacterium becomes active when the immune system weakens (mayoclinic.org). The active form of TB can result in coughs, sneezes, and spits (mayoclinic.org).

Tuberculosis, TB (tubercle bacillus) or MTB (mycobacterium tuberculosis) is a widespread, and in numerous cases fatal, communicable disease produced by a variety of forms of mycobacteria. The disease is distributed within the air when individuals who are infected with active TB infection sneeze, cough, or pass on breathing fluids throughout the air. Generally infections are asymptomatic, meaning they feel or show no symptoms, and dormant, but then again approximately one in ten dormant infections in the long run move on to the active disease. If left untouched, active TB is fatal to more than half of those infected.

Tuberculosis is a potentially lethal, contagious disease, mainly caused by a bacterium known as Mycobacterium tuberculosis, or Mtb. This

Tuberculosis (TB) is a chronic bacterial infection that affects millions of people globally. It is a contagious disease that is spread through the air, and it usually affects the lungs. It is transmitted from person to person through droplets from the respiratory tract of those who are already infected with the disease. Some who are infected with the bacteria that causes TB often exhibit no symptoms, because their immune systems stop the bacteria from growing and multiplying. Those with compromised immune systems are more susceptible to developing the full blown disease which can cause symptoms that include coughing, spitting blood, chest pains, weakness, weight loss, and fever. Tuberculosis can be treated with a six to nine month course of a combination of antibiotics. If left untreated, TB will spread and can be fatal.

TB is usually transmitted through exposure to others with active tuberculosis infections. If the infector has active pulmonary TB and performs any action that expels out salivary or mucous material, that material can transmit the bacteria to others. The bacteria then

In an immuno-complete individual these microorganisms are handled via the immune response system. This can then result in a latent TB infection. A latent TB infection can remain dormant for life. In an individual that is immunocompromised the inflammatory response of the body is not always effective. With the inflammatory response not being effective the spread of the bacilli will continue to happen. When the bacilli continues to spread the immune system alone is unable to stop the Mtb infection from

Tuberculosis is a mycobacterial disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Transmission usually occurs through exposure to the tubercle bacilli in airborne droplets from persons with pulmonary tuberculosis who talk, cough, or sneeze but not everyone infected with TB becomes sick with it. TB remains latent in the bodies. People with latent TB do not spread TB to others. The nature of latent TB is extremely important, especially in an age of HIV, because latent TB can become active in people with weak immune systems. This could occur because of HIV. Thus, the large amount of people in the world with latent TB infection have a very significant risk of developing active infection if they are infected with HIV. The TB-HIV interface is

Given these points, it is importance to differentiate between the two types of TB infections: latent and active. An individual with latent TB has the bacteria in their body, but since the bacteria is not active, this individual will not experience symptoms associated with TB nor be contagious. Although, taking precautions, is always a wise choice, because individuals with

TB is the most common cause of infectious disease–related mortality worldwide. in 2014, TB killed 1.5 million people (1.1 million HIV-negative and 0.4 million HIV-positive). The disease included 890 000 men, 480 000 women and 140 000 children. TB now ranks alongside HIV as a leading cause of death worldwide. HIV’s death in 2014 was estimated at 1.2 Million, which included the 0.4 million TB deaths among HIV positive people. Worldwide, 9.6 million people are estimated to have fallen ill with TB in 2014: 5.4 million men, 3.2 million women and 1.0 million children. Globally, 12% of the 9.6 million new TB cases in 2014 were

When one inhales air coughed out by TB patients, the infection is referred to as primary tuberculosis. In most instances, most people get infected with primary tuberculosis, but since its severity is minimal, there are higher chances of recovery (CDC 17). The infection rate of primary tuberculosis depends on the strength of an individual’s immune system.

Every 25 seconds a person dies from tuberculosis. This equates to approximately 1.3 million people every year (Global Alliance for TB Drug Development, 2014). Tuberculosis, or more commonly known as TB, is more prominent in developing countries with 80% of Asian and African countries testing positive for tuberculosis (Abbas AK, 2007). India currently has the most cases of TB in the world (World Health Organization, 2009). There are a few types of TB such as common, partial drug resistant and drug resistant. The disease that will be focused on today is common tuberculosis.

Most people who are exposed to Tuberculosis never develop symptoms because the bacteria can live in an inactive form in the body, also known as Latent Tuberculosis, or Latent TB. But if the immune system weakens, such as in people with HIV or elderly adults, Tuberculosis bacteria can become active. Active Tuberculosis disease can be fatal if left untreated. In Latent Tuberculosis, the bacteria are in an inactive state and can cause no symptoms, and are not

Early symptoms of active TB can include weight loss, fever, night sweats, and loss of appetite. Symptoms may be vague, however, and go unnoticed by the affected person. For some, the disease either goes into remission (halts) or becomes chronic and more debilitating with cough, chest pain, and bloody sputum (saliva).

TB is a worldwide health threaten issue that affecting one-third of the world population (DH, 2006). The WHO identified TB as a top infectious killing disease, which takes more than one million lives in 2014 globally (2016). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that TB usually first starts with affecting the lungs with symptoms