1Tuberculosis (or TB) known as one of the deadliest diseases that humans have lived with, and died from for thousands of years. 2Throughout history there has been evidence of tuberculosis infections in ancient mummies discovered with TB decaying in the spinal region of the remains. 2In classic Greek texts they describe a deadly disease that decays the body from the inside out, and Native Americans have battled this disease for centuries before coming in contact with Europeans. 1Consumption persisted throughout the middle ages, and in medieval Europe. 1The Europeans believed that scrofula (inflammation of the lymph nodes in the neck caused by TB) could be cured only by “The Royal Touch,” meaning simply being touched by the monarch of England or France. 5"If the importance of a disease for mankind is measured by the number of fatalities it causes, then tuberculosis must be considered much more important than those most feared infectious diseases, plague, cholera and the like”. (Robert Koch, Nobel Laureate, 1905.) 1Spreading of TB occurred throughout the 18th and 19th centuries in Europe. 3Usually people in this time blamed the disease on poor diet, poor air quality, witches, and fairies. 1Medical doctors began to better understand TB in the 19th century, however, linking TB of the lungs, scrofula, and skin lesions to the same disease became tough do too not having the right technology. 2In 1882 Robert Koch isolated and identified the TB bacillus. 1“One in seven of all human beings dies from tuberculosis”. (Robert Koch, Nobel Laureate, 1905.) 1Koch established that the disease would spread by exposure to the TB germ. 5If this changed the medical community's understanding of how to prevent and treat the ...
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...ch doesn’t only affects humans. 1Different strains of the TB bacterium that infect cattle (un-treated milk had been known to transmit the disease from cattle to humans before heat treatment and pasteurization), birds, fish, turtles and frogs.1 TB has been estimated that in the two centuries (from 1700 to 1900), tuberculosis owns responsibility for the deaths of approximately one billion people.2 The yearly death rate from TB when Koch made his discovery known to be an average of seven million people.5 Although the disease has not been eradicated, there has been no doubt that Robert Koch's discovery of the tubercle bacillus has helped research and development of medicine for curing infected, and sick individuals as well as the resources and knowledge to prevent the spread of TB. 1Koch’s discovery had a profound impact on human history and has saved many lives today.
Tuberculosis is marked by symptoms such as a hollow cough, an emaciated body, nightly weats and daily intermittent fevers. Tuberculosis was common amongst working classes because it was contracted through pestilent, infected air, manifesting itself in places surrounded by swampy land. Geography plays an important role in the transmission of tuberculosis. The working classes could not afford to live in areas that were free of the epidemic. The upper classes did contract consumption, although they sought the medicine of the day which often brought them to health. The most popular remedy was a sea voyage in a warm climate, but also pure air and the most nutritious food were encouraged. Accordi...
Its epidemiological importance is illustrated by World Health Organization Prevention of Tuberculosis includes better living conditions, proper nutrition, and positive health practices” (Fogel, 2015, p.530). Positive health practices include covering nose and mouth when coughing and frequent hand washing. Bacille Calmette-Gurin (BCG) vaccine tends to be given in other countries. Tuberculosis is known as one of the main causes of mortality in the world. This communicable disease is a serious public health conundrum. “The disease still puts a strain on public health, being only second to HIV/AIDS in causing high mortality rates” (Matteelli, Roggi, & Carvalho, 2014, p.
Tuberculosis has been known to mankind since ancient times. Earlier this disease has been called by numerous names including ‘consumption’ (because of the severe weight loss) and ‘the white plague.’ Mycobacterium tuberculosis (the bacteria that causes TB), existed 15,000 to 20,000 years ago. In the 18th century in Western Europe, tuberculosis reached its peak with a occurrence as high as 900 deaths per 100,000.2
Tuberculosis or TB, referred to by some as the White death due to the epidemic that arose in Europe that lasted two hundred years, is usually caused by in humans by a microorganism by substrains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It’s hard to determine the exact years in which TB first infected humans, but since the disease leaves traces on the bone in can be found in archeological record and it is believed to go all the way back to the B.C. era. Although it is hard to tell if the bone damage was truly from TB, there is research that shows that it has been around since the 17th and 18th centuries with a high number of incidences of TB, and in 1882 Dr. Robert Koch announced that his discovery of the causing factor of TB, which is Mycobacterium tuberculosis. A tuberculosis bacterium is spread through the air by an infected person speaking, coughing, or sneezing. Due to the fact the bacteria is protected by a waxy cell all, the body’s defense takes weeks to develop any kind of immunity and it allows the bacteria to exponentially multiply freely within the body. If TB it’s left untreated it will eat rapidly through many tissues, usually beginning with the lungs, lymph nodes, and kidneys. As the infection spreads to the lungs, it causes a cough and fluid between the chest wall and lungs, which leads to chest pains, severe shortness of breath, and potential heart failure. TB also infects bones and joints that can produce arthritis like pain and characteristic bone damage. Another possibility is that it may affect the fluid around the brain, causing meningitis, which can lead to fever, drowsiness, and eventually coma and death (Wingerson, 2009).
Tuberculosis is sometimes called disease of the poor, poverty restricts lots of people to live in a small space, leading to overcrowding. Smaller spaces increase the possibility of M. Tuberculosis to spread and infect an individual. Also immunocompromised individual are susceptible to acquiring tuberculosis. For example, HIV patients, malnourished individual are more susceptible to tuberculosis compared to the average healthy individual. People that are constantly in close range to infected individual are at higher risk of getting infected because, they are more likely to share and breathe the same air. This will lead to inhalation of M. Tuberculosis and might eventually lead to tuberculosis.
Tuberculosis needed to be treated otherwise it can be deadly. It can affect lungs and all other parts ...
Education can be a powerful weapon in fighting tuberculosis in the United States also around the world. Today, it is encouraging how so many people know how TB contracts human and what cause drug resistant effects among those who are under TB treatment.
Throughout many years tuberculosis has atrociously affected the lives of many people. Many have suffered a horrible death due to this horrid disease. Tuberculosis is a highly contagious disease due to mycobacterium tuberculosis, which initiated about one hundred fifty million years ago. Skeletal abnormalities typical for tuberculosis were found in Egyptian mummies back in 2400 BC. In ancient Greece the Greeks seemed very familiar with tuberculosis only they called it Phtisis. Many years later a disease that was called “ scrofula” was described to be a certain form of tuberculosis. It was referred to as “king’s evil” in England and France, and they believed it could be cured by a royal touch. This practice was put to an end in the year 1714.
TB is a significant zoonotic disease (a disease of animals which can also infect humans).
During the twentieth century, more than 300 million deaths worldwide were due to smallpox, however, in 1980 after a global collaboration led by the World Health Organization, the first infectious disease to be eradicated was smallpox. On the other hand, during the 20th century tuberculosis which was once thought to have been declining in developed countries, is now according to WHO (2013) second only to HIV/AIDS as the greatest killer worldwide. This disease has been estimated by The World Health Organisation (2013) to kill 1.3 million people per year, the majority of those being in developed countries. Therefore, in this essay I will compare the prospects for control and eradication of tuberculosis to smallpox, with a reference to the interplay required between both biological and social factors.
Tuberculosis (TB), a deadly contagious disease is among the three major infectious killers that causes high mortality and morbidity, worldwide.1 Tuberculosis infects one-third of the world's population with an estimated 8.7 million new cases and 1.4 million deaths every year (WHO, 2012)2. Tuberculosis prevention has become more complex due to increased resistance against different antibiotics including rifampicin.3
Throughout the industrial revolution, tuberculosis or as it is known for short “TB” was also a major killer for the population. Tuberculosis is an infectious disease which is caused by various types of micro bacteria. Tuberculosis affects ones lungs, but it doesn’t stop there, it can also spread to various parts of one’s body and causes tremendous damages. Due to the great number of lives the tuberculosis disease took during the industrial revolution, many of the people gave it a specific name, relatable to the black plague, only they called it “The white death” a metaphorical name for the disease. The poor sanitary jobs made tuberculosis very easy to attract.
...tions and epidemiology around 1900. Studies In History & Philosophy Of Biological & Biomedical Sciences, 41(3), 232-240. doi:10.1016/j.shpsc.2010.04.012
Mycobacterium tuberculosis has been present in the human population for thousands of years; fragments of the spinal column from Egyptian mummies from 2400 BCE show definite pathological signs of tubercular decay. Called "consumption," tuberculosis was recognized as the leading cause of mortality by 1650. Using a new staining technique, Robert Koch identified the bacterium responsible for causing consumption in 1882. While scientists finally had a target for fighting the disease, they did not have the means to treat patients; the spread of infection was controlled only by attempting to isolate patients. At the turn of the twentieth century, more than 80% of the population in the United States was infected before age 20, and tuberculosis was still the leading cause of death. The production of antibiotics in the 1940’s allowed physicians to begin effectively treating patients, leading to huge drops in the death rate of the disease. Tuberculosis is still a major cause of mortality in young adults worldwide, but is less of a problem in developed countries.
Tuberculosis has plagued mankind for a long time. This disease, which was previously believed to be eradicated, has once again shown up and begun attacking the lives of many humans. Tuberculosis infects a third of the population and kills a fraction of them. Many approaches have been used including different varieties of infection control, bodily defenses, and treatments to try to protect humans from tuberculosis. The best way to prevent tuberculosis infections is to contain the source of tuberculosis. The most common source of tuberculosis infection is from infected humans. By diagnosing, containing, and treating people with latent tuberculosis before they get active, contagious tuberculosis, tuberculosis can be quickly contained. Once someone has been diagnosed with TB, they should be placed under isolation.