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Tuberculosis : Hiv And Tb

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TUBERCULOSIS This is a disease that has seen its prevalence not only in developing countries but also in developed nations. It has such a detrimental effect that it has an increased rate on mortality and its the leading cause of death in people with HIV. A report by CDC (2015) states that in 2014 a third of the world was infected by the disease, 9.6 million people around the world were diagnosed with TB disease with 1.5 million deaths worldwide.
Definition
TB is a contagious and often severe airborne disease caused by infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) bacteria. TB typically affects the lungs, but it also can affect any other organ of the body, (tuberculosis,2015).
Tb can be classified as either latent or active. Tb is …show more content…

Indirect transmission of tuberculosis can occur by contact with contaminated inanimate objects (fomites) by susceptible persons. It can also be acquired by the ingestion of contaminated foods, (Wistreich,2010,p.25). Only people with active TB can spread the disease to others.

Signs and symptoms
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).
Symptoms of TB involving areas other than the lungs vary, depending upon the organ or area affected,(tuberculosis,2015).
Treatments and progress of the disease The primary goals of anti-tuberculosis chemotherapy are to: 1) kill the tubercle bacilli in the patient, 2) prevent the emergence of drug-resistance, and 3) eliminate persistent tubercle bacilli from the patient’s tissue in order to prevent a relapse. To accomplish these three goals, multiple anti-TB drugs must be taken for a sufficient period of time. It should be noted that the determination of whether or not treatment has been completed is based on the total number of drug doses taken, and not solely on the duration of the therapy (Wistreich,2010,pg40). New cases are initially treated with four drugs: isoniazid, rifampin, pyrazinamide, and either ethambutol or

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