Mycobacterium Tuberculosis An Overwhelming Pathogen.

According to the World Health Organization, tuberculosis (TB) is the number two killer worldwide due to a single infectious agent (WHO, 2017). In 2015, 10.4 million new cases have been identified and 1.8 million people have died from this disease (WHO, 2017). TB is caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium TB, and the majority of TB deaths occur in low and middle-income countries. This disease is curable and preventable, but the lack of access to proper healthcare and medication administration makes it a concern for the most of the world’s population. TB is an airborne disease that can transmit when an infected person coughs, sneezes, spits, laughs, or talks. The majority of TB cases can be cured when the right medications are available and

Tuberculosis is an infectious bacterial disease caused by the pathogen, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and most often found in the lungs. It is transmitted via droplets from the throat and lungs of those with active respiratory disease. People with weakened immune systems can make the bacteria active which causes death of tissue in the organs infected. Symptoms usually consists of overall sensation of feeling unwell, cough, possibly with bloody mucus, fatigue, shortness of breath, weight loss, low-grade fever, night sweats, and chest pain when breathing. To stop further transmission of tuberculosis, finding patients and giving appropriate treatment as well as rapid detection of pathogen and drug resistance is effective. Typing of M. tuberculosis

TB is still proven to be a top killer around the world, and with more cases of drug resistant TB being reported daily, the cost of treating and preventing this disease will continue to be on the rise.

Tuberculosis (TB) truly is everywhere. It does not discriminate by age or race. It doesn't care where you live or were you come from. It can infect anyone, at anytime, in any place in the world, and it can wait in the body patiently for an opportunity to attack. All tuberculosis needs is for its host to breathe it in and let it find its way into the lungs, lodging within the alveolar sacs. Thankfully, however, TB is fairly hard to catch.

Tuberculosis, the white plague as used to be called once upon a time is still one of the deadliest bacterial killers affecting almost all parts, all corners of the globe. Though successful anti-tubercular antibiotic regimens and effective vaccine are available for decades and being used in the battle against Koch’s bacillus, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of this chronic multi organ granulomatous disease, our strand in the battle continuously seems to be in the losing side. Moreover the increasing prevalence of HIV-AIDS and diabetes mellitus is being proved to be providing predisposition to tuberculosis. As witnessed by the WHO, which has estimated that, in the year 2012, 8.6 million people have developed tuberculosis and 1.3 million have died of the disease including 320000 deaths of HIV-TB co-infected people (Global tuberculosis report 2013. World Health Organization; 2013). Long term antibiotic therapy and that too associated with several side effects and discomforts have diminished patient compliance with the anti-tubercular chemotherapy. This fact in turn has raised the new deadlier MDR-TB and XDR-TB strains. The whole scenario is a matter of panic and questioning the effectiveness of anti-tubercular antibiotics, immunologic efficacy of century old BCG vaccine and all other medical advents.

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease that originates from the specific bacterium, Mycobacterium tuberculosis. TB typically affects the lungs the most by manifesting into pulmonary TB, but there is always a potential for any body parts to get affected by said bacteria. Transmission of TB occurs when individuals with active pulmonary TB cough, spit, or sneeze, which has the potential to release aerosol droplets of TB infected saliva. This makes TB a highly infectious disease with a plausible likelihood that it could spread rampantly if the conditions were proper for bacterial transmission. In addition to manifesting in infectious manners, TB is quite closely linked to overcrowding and malnutrition which infers that it occurs at higher

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.

Infectious diseases are one of the most challenging adversities that the human race faces. Diseases that once wiped out large populations are now well understood, preventative measures can be taken, and effective treatment methods provided. However, as science has evolved so have the infectious diseases that are seen. An example of an infectious disease that has been studied and continues to be seen today is Tuberculosis. Tuberculosis has been a health hazard for many centuries and was once an epidemic. Medical advances and studies have been able to enlighten not only the etiology, but also the mode of transmission, ways to diagnose, and ways to treat and/or manage infection.

Tuberculosis, a disease responsible for millions of deaths and has been affecting people since Aristotle’s and Hippocrates’s eras to the present day (Frith, 2014a). Tuberculosis has surged in great epidemics and then receded, Mycobacterium tuberculosis may have killed more persons than any other microbial pathogen (Frith, 2014a). Tuberculosis is an infection by the “bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis which invades the lungs” (Saladin, 2015) and other parts of the body. Tuberculosis is a contagious disease and when left untreated it is fatal (Kalo et al., 2015). “Although [tuberculosis] is a preventable and treatable disease…it still poses a significant threat globally” due to drug resistant strains of the disease (Kalo et al., 2015). Millions of people have contracted Tuberculosis, many now suffering from the drug resistant Tuberculosis, and millions have died from this disease (Kalo et al, 2015).

In the United States there is a population of over 321 million and of that 9,421 people are affected by the attack in the air. The attack in the air is called Tuberculosis. Tuberculosis, known as TB, is caused by a bacteria called mycobacterium tuberculosis, according to the Center for Disease Control. TB is an infectious disease that is spread through the air from one person to another person, close contact with a person with active TB would cause a risk for infection. The risk comes from microscopic droplets that released in the air by an infected tuberculosis patient that coughs, sneezes, spits, or laughs. There are many things to consider when discussing tuberculosis such as types, signs and symptoms, diagnosis/prognosis, treatment,

Tuberculosis is among the fatal diseases that are spread through the air. It’s contagious, meaning that it spreads from one infected individual to another, and at times it spreads very fast. In addition to being contagious, the disease is an opportunist infection as it takes advantage of those with weak defense mechanism, and especially the ones with terminal diseases like HIV and AIDS. Tuberculosis is therefore among the major concerns for the World Health Organization due to its contagious nature (World Health Organization 1).

Tuberculosis is an infectious bacterial disease that affects the lungs and can often be serious when not treated quickly and properly. Tuberculosis is a miserable illness to have and is caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis being spread through the air. Symptoms include severe coughing that can last for longer than three weeks, coughing up blood, chest pain, pain when breathing or coughing, weight loss, fatigue, fever, night sweats, chills, and lack of appetite. This illness can also affect other organs or body parts, which lead to additional symptoms. When it occurs outside the lungs the symptoms correspond to the place it occurs. Examples include back pain when it occurs in your spine and blood in urine when it occurs in the

Tuberculosis ranks as the second leading cause of death from a single infectious agent as per the 2014 WHO report and continues as a global health problem. Global Emergency was declared by WHO against tuberculosis in March 1993. As per the WHO 2015 report 9.6 million were affected with TB globally and 1.5 million people died in 2014. India reported 23% of total cases globally with highest prevalence rate of 195 per 105 populations. In the total 9.6 million new cases of TB 1.2 million cases were HIV positive. India is one among the top ten countries reported with MDR and XDR-TB. The etiological agent Mycobacterium tuberculosis is an Acid-fast bacillus which is spread by air borne droplets and aerosols and infects most commonly the lungs

When looking to educate myself on the most commonly seen health conditions in hospitals, I turned to Mrs. Tonya Simpson RN, a registered nurse at St. Joseph hospital in New Jersey. Mrs. Simpson informed me that Tuberculosis is a disease that she sees profusely at St. Joseph hospital. During the interview I gained great insight on why she chose this particular disease, the etiology, the frequency, prevalence, pathophysiology, signs/symptoms, treatments, and the prognosis of Tuberculosis.

As the time progresses, the world population increasing exponentially which results in a higher spread of diseases. Even though it might seem like increasing population has nothing to do with Tuberculosis and it's reemergence in the 21st century, however, there are links that do provide some clue on a possible threat to the global health.