Tuberculosis : A Infectious Disease Essay

Once believed to be easily treated and prevented, Tuberculosis (TB) has recently been making a steady comeback. Previous to modern medicine, TB claimed millions of victims, spreading from person to person like wildfire. Around the 17th-18th centuries, the “White Plague” took the lives of 1 in 5 adults (20%) in Europe and North America (Iseman, 1994). However, as technological advances progressed, this seemingly ferocious viral disease became a primal, insignificant thing of the past. But, in the nature of all bacteria, TB has, in the recent years, mutated to become progressively drug resistant. Why is Tuberculosis coming back with a vengeance? Well, the answer’s quite simple. TB has done an amazing job of standing in the corner and

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 one of the major causes of death from many infectious diseases (3). Out of 9 million people who are infected with mycobacteria, about 2 million deaths occur from tuberculosis every year (3). Unfortunately, the prevalence of tuberculosis is in a continuous increase due to increased number of Human immunodeificnecy virus (HIV) patients, bacterial resistance to anti-tuberculous drugs, and growing number of recreational drug users (3). The pathogen responsible for bacterial infection, potentially causing tuberculosis, is mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) (2). Persons with adequate immune system can control the bacterial infection so mycobacteria remain dormant for a long time (11). In a typical tuberculous granuloma, mature

Tuberculosis, a disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis, has been around for thousands of years. In fact, one of the earliest cases of tuberculosis, known as TB, or often referred to as the White Plague, because of the pale skin of the Caucasians who wasted away from it, was found in a young man from Germany about 7,000 years ago. Scientists believe tuberculosis was probably an extremely common disease in Ancient Egypt, and throughout the centuries was spread through Europe, Asia, and Africa. European explorers including Columbus, were blamed for bringing TB to the New World, though evidence proves Native Americans suffered from the disease long before then.

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 (TB) is the disease of the lung caused by a slow-growing intracellular pathogen called Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb) (1). In 2014, there were 9.6 million cases of active TB disease worldwide, and 1.2 million TB-related deaths according to World Health Organization (WHO) (2). The burden of the disease can be appreciated with the knowledge that one third of the world population is latently infected with M.tb, and 5-10% of exposed individuals develop active disease and are able to spread the infection to more people every year (3,1). To reduce this burden, effective strategies are required in both preventative and therapeutic areas of research.

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 was one of the first infectious diseases to be documented in human history and continues to afflict and co-evolve with humanity today. This disease is prevalent in mankind as well as in other animals through of the genus of bacteria called Mycobacterium. Mycobacterium tuberculosis, also known as “Bacillus of Koch,” is the species of tuberculosis most common in humans. It is estimated this causative bacterium evolved 50,000 years ago and was discovered in 1883 by Robert Koch (see figure 1). Koch discovered TB by comparing tuberculosis-infected tissue dissections from guinea pigs, brains, lungs of people who had died from blood-borne tuberculosis, and the lungs of chronically infected

Tuberculosis has infected human populations for millennia. Ancient Egyptian mummies have been shown to have TB, as well as ancient Greco-Roman societies. TB was largely controlled with the discovery of the tuberculosis mycobacterium and the advent of the Bacille Calmette-Guérin vaccine, as well as effective drug treatments. This is not a new problem. However, antibiotic resistant strains and inconsistent treatments have caused a resurgence in TB cases across the globe. Today’s TB is one of the most infectious diseases globally. According to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, “Emerging drug-resistant strains of the disease are presenting a new

The fact that almost a third of world’s population is infected with mycobacterium tuberculosis, and that the disease kill over 2 million individuals each year demonstrates how prevalent this disease is.

Tuberculosis, also known as (TB) has been around for decades and is still active across the globe. It was a huge threat to Europe and America in The 19th century. Tuberculosis is an infectious disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis. An individual can become infected with the disease while breathing in the bacteria that is spread through the air droplets when a person coughs or speaks. TB mainly affects the lungs, however, it can attack other organs also. Tuberculosis can be fatal if not treated promptly. “There is paleopathological evidence that Tuberculosis has been around 8000 BCE and evidence of bony tuberculosis has been found dating from the Neolithic period in 5800 BCE and in Egyptian mummies dating to 2400 BCE” (Riello et al., 2016).

This paper discusses the historical aspect of the fatal and contagious disease now known as tuberculosis. It discusses the history of Tuberculosis beginning with Ancient Egyptian mummies to the most current discovery of TB. Greek philosopher such as Hippocrates and Plato observed the first cases of tuberculosis. They are two out of the many people that gradually discovered the TB out of the many. It talks about the different remedies that different philosophers and physicians came about that have been revised.

Tuberculosis (TB) – an infectious respiratory disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), continues to be one of 21th century’s greatest public health concerns. Attempts at

When I was 12, my mother underwent a knee replacement. Five years later, my father was diagnosed with leukemia and received chemotherapy. I witnessed first hand my parents’ frustrations in maneuvering the healthcare system because they did not speak English. Not only did I act as their translator in navigating the medical terminology, diagnosis, treatments, and billing but in doing so, it encouraged me to better understand why patients with language barriers, such as my parents, felt disregarded and received substandard care. During my freshman year at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) I put into perspective the lack of educational opportunities in underserved communities and their contributions to health disparities. I have felt that it is my calling to address the lack of access to education, health care and

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).