tuberculosis

Tuberculosis(TB) is a bacterial disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacteria Tuberculosis and primarily affects the lungs. Tuberculosis is not as common as it once was in the United States, but because of HIV, AIDS, and forms of tuberculosis resistant to drugs and antibiotics, it has become slightly more common. Besides the United States, it is still a major problem in poorer countries without access to antibiotics; up to a third of the world’s population may have a form of tuberculosis, including latent TB, meaning that there are TB bacteria in the patient’s body, but it is not contagious and the patient has no observable symptoms.

Cause

Ultimately, as stated before, the Mycobaterium Tuberculosis (MT) bacterium causes TB. It spreads via airborne droplets from someone who is infected (e.g. when someone coughs or sneezes, you inhale the bacteria, where they settle and begin to thrive within the lungs. Once the MT bacterium enters your body, one of three things can happen. If it begins to grow in the lungs, the patient will fall ill with TB. If The MT enters your body, but remains as latent TB, you are not ill and have no observable TB symptoms. There is also the possibility of destroying the bacterium because of a strong immune system.

TB is a respiratory disease, meaning it is highly unlikely for someone to contract the disease through direct contact or sharing of items. If you have TB, uninfected persons in the immediate vicinity have a high chance of contracting it (e.g. co-workers, classmates, friends, family). Other risk factors include, in no particular order: smoking, alcoholism, having HIV or AIDS (HIV attacks the immune system, possibly turning latent TB into active TB), organ transplantation, having inadequate acce...

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...top too early, they could become sick again. Similarly, if they do not take the medicine correctly or as prescribed, the TB bacteria still alive could become drug-resistant, making TB disease more difficult and expensive to treat. There are a few common side effects that include feeling sick or dizzy, skin rashes, flu like symptoms, and paraesthesia (an abnormal sensation, usually a tingling or pricking feeling). The only more serious side effect is jaundice, which is the yellowing of eyes or skin due to obstruction of the bile duct or excessive breakdown of red blood cells. This happens very rarely, but if it does occur, the patient should stop taking medication immediately and consult their physician or doctor at once.

Works Cited

http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/condition/tuberculosis http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/8856.php http://www.cdc.gov/tb/