ABOUT TUBERCULOSIS

                                           TUBERCULOSIS

The Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacterium causes TB. It is spread through the air when a person with TB (whose lungs are affected) coughs, sneezes, spits, laughs or talks.

TB is contagious, but it is not easy to catch. The chances of catching TB from someone you live or work with are much higher than from a stranger. Most people with active TB who have received appropriate treatment for at least two weeks are no longer contagious.

Since antibiotics began to be used to fight TB, some strains have become resistant to drugs. Multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) arises when an antibiotic fails to kill all of the bacteria that it targets, with the surviving bacteria developing resistance to that antibiotic and often others at the same time.

CAUSES

The bacteria that cause TB is spread through the air from person to person. The TB bacteria are put into the air when a person with TB disease coughs, sneezes, speaks, or sings. People nearby may breathe in these bacteria and become infected. There are two types of TB conditions: latent TB infection and TB disease.

TB bacteria can live in the body without making you sick. This is called latent TB infection. In most people who breathe in TB bacteria and become infected, the body is able to fight the bacteria to stop them from growing. People with latent TB infection do not feel sick, do not have any symptoms, and cannot spread TB bacteria to others.

If TB bacteria become active in the body and multiply, the person will go from having latent TB infection to being sick with TB disease.

People with TB disease usually have symptoms and may spread TB bacteria to others.

Woman coughing into arm

A cough lasting 3 weeks or longer is a symptom of TB disease.

SYMPTOMS

While latent TB is symptomless, the symptoms of active TB include the following:

Coughing, sometimes with mucus or blood

Chills

Fatigue

Fever

Loss of weight

Loss of appetite

Night sweats.

Tuberculosis usually affects the lungs, but can also affect other parts of the body. When TB occurs outside of the lungs, the symptoms can vary accordingly. Without treatment, TB can spread to other parts of the body through the bloodstream:

TB infecting the bones can lead to spinal pain and joint destruction

TB infecting the brain can cause meningitis

TB infecting the liver and kidneys can impair their waste filtration functions and lead to blood in the urine

TB infecting the heart can impair the heart's ability to pump blood, resulting in a condition called cardiac tamponade that can be fatal.

PREVENTION

TB is an airborne disease and transmission essentially can be prevented through adequate ventilation and limited contact with patients.

Many people who are infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) do not get sick or spread the bacteria to others—this is known as latent TB. In the United States and many other countries, healthcare providers try to identify people infected with Mtb as early as possible, before they advance from latent to active TB.

Some people at higher risk for developing active TB are

People with HIV infection

People who became infected with TB bacteria in the last two years

Babies and young children

People who inject illegal drugs

People who are sick with other diseases that weaken the immune system

Elderly people

People who were not treated correctly for TB in the past

People in high risk groups can be treated with medicine to prevent active TB disease and should meet with their healthcare providers to determine the appropriate treatment.

TB Vaccine

In those parts of the world where the disease is common, the World Health Organization recommends that infants receive a vaccine called BCG (Bacille Calmette-Guérin). BCG is fairly effective in protecting small children from severe TB complications. It does not protect adults very well against lung TB, which is the form of TB that is easiest to spread to others. BCG is not currently recommended for infants in the United States.