Tuberculosis : An Airborne Disease Caused By A Bacteria That Goes

Tuberculosis is a disease of an infectious nature caused by a bacterium known as mycobacterium tuberculosis. The disease spreads through the air. People with the disease can spread it to susceptible people through coughing, sneezing, talking or spitting. It mainly affects the lungs and other parts such as the lymph nodes and kidneys can also be affected. The symptoms for TB are fatigue, coughing, night sweats, weight loss and fever. One third of the population of the world is affected with mycobacterium tuberculosis. The rate of infection is estimated to be one person per second. About 14 million people in the world are infected with active tuberculosis. Drug resistant TB has been recorded to be a serious public health hazard in many countries. Resistant strains have developed making it difficult to treat the disease. TB has caused millions of death mainly in people living with HIV/AIDS ADDIN EN.CITE Ginsberg19981447(Ginsberg, 1998)1447144717Ginsberg, Ann M.The Tuberculosis Epidemic: Scientific Challenges and OpportunitiesPublic Health Reports (1974-)Public Health Reports (1974-)128-13611321998Association of Schools of Public Health00333549http://www.jstor.org/stable/4598234( HYPERLINK l "_ENREF_3" o "Ginsberg, 1998 #1447" Ginsberg, 1998). The World Health Organization came up with the DOTS (Directly Observed, Therapy, Short course) strategy. The approach involves diagnosing cases and treating patients with drugs for about 6-8

Tuberculosis is caused by the bacteria “Mycobacterium Tuberculosis” and is mainly causes infection of the lungs (WHO, 2016). Its mode of transmission is airborne, so it can be passed on by inhalation of airborne droplets which carrying the bacteria, when an infected patient coughs, sneezes, or spits the TB germs into the air (WHO, 1026). Among the symptoms of active TB are: cough with sputum and blood, chest pains, weakness, fever and night sweats (WHO, 2016). Most at risk to get the TB infection are people with weakened immune system such as people who are suffering from chronic diseases such as diabetes mellitus, severe kidney disease, silicosis and especially HIV infection (CDC, 2016). Children and Tobacco users are also at greater risk to fall ill with TB.

Tuberculosis (Mycobacterium tuberculosis), also known as TB, is a disease spread by respiratory inhalation of droplets that contain the bacteria. Tuberculosis is an ancient disease that has been traced back at least 9000 years. In 1882, Dr. Robert Koch was the first physician to describe Mycobacterium tuberculosis as the germ responsible for tuberculosis. However, treatment that was evidenced based was not put into practice until the 20th century. It is estimated that 2 billion people around the world are infected with the TB bacteria. Approximately 5 to 10 percent of these infected people will actual develop active TB and experience the life-threatening symptoms of the disease. Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (TB) is a chronic bacterial infection that affects millions of people globally. It is a contagious disease that is spread through the air, and it usually affects the lungs. It is transmitted from person to person through droplets from the respiratory tract of those who are already infected with the disease. Some who are infected with the bacteria that causes TB often exhibit no symptoms, because their immune systems stop the bacteria from growing and multiplying. Those with compromised immune systems are more susceptible to developing the full blown disease which can cause symptoms that include coughing, spitting blood, chest pains, weakness, weight loss, and fever. Tuberculosis can be treated with a six to nine month course of a combination of antibiotics. If left untreated, TB will spread and can be fatal.

In the United States, local and state health departments are usually in charge of TB prevention and control as they are in charge of protecting the community health. However, health care department needs to collaborate with hospitals, policy makers, HIV clinics, and correctional facilities in order to report and treat new cases and treat them promptly (Rubin, 2014). Moreover, the health department needs to work in collaboration with these agencies in order to enforce treatment for those with active tuberculosis. The first step to an effective TB prevention program is identifying and treating people with active TB. This means tracking people with active TB and ensuring that they complete treatment. The second step is to screen people who may have come in contact with a person with active TB. The third step is to screen high risk population. To achieve all these goals, local and state health departments should collaborate with health care providers from several communities and organizations (Nardell & Churchyard, 2011).

Since TB is highly infectious, we need to discuss what testing your family needs to have done to make sure they do not have it either. There are two ways to get tested for TB, which is either the TB skin test, also known as the Mantoux tuberculin skin test (TST), or the TB blood test. Since your kids are under the age of five the CDC recommends the skin test (CDC, 2016). It is also preferred that your wife gets the skin test, unless she has been previously vaccinated for TB. The skin test is performed by injecting a small amount of fluid under the skin in the forearm that will cause a reaction if the person has TB. This reaction will not occur right away, so your family will have to come back in within 48 to 72 hours to have it read by a health care provider. To read the TB test, the health care worker will inspect the site for any redness, hardness, or swelling. If there is any induration, or swelling, they will also measure the area to see whether they test positive or negative. If one or more of your family’s skin tests come back positive

Tuberculosis can infect anywhere in the body, but it infects the lungs most commonly, which is known as the pulmonary tuberculosis [4]. Tuberculosis can be latent when infected, and developed into active TB disease. People with latent TB (about 33.3% of the world population) will not have any symptoms and will not transmit the disease to other people. However, they are at a 10% risk that it will develop into active TB over their lifetime. The symptoms include cough, fever, fatigue, chills, night sweat, weight loss, etc. TB is transmitted through air by coughing, spitting, speaking, and sneezing, etc. [3][4]. A person can be infected by inhaling just a few of the bacterium [3].

Tuberculosis (TB) is a severe airborne pathogen that is highly contagious and listed as one of the top 10 causes of death around the world. The bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis causes TB, and it most often affects the lungs. Other bacterial members of TB include Mycobacterium africanum and Mycobacterium boris. The Mycobacterium africanum is most common in West African countries and causes of a quarter of TB cases in Gambia. Both Mycobacterium tuberculosis and africanum have similar symptoms. ___________

However the short comings include early and effective case finding, patient compliance to 6 months of treatment, adverse drug reactions and the emanation of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. Accurate diagnosis of drug resistant tuberculosis is still a major bottle neck in most parts of the world. The unprecedented proportion of drug resistant cases reiterates the need for expansion of DOTS not only to reduce the burden of tuberculosis but also to prevent the very real possibility of an untreatable airborne epidemic.

This paper contains information about the communicable disease known as tuberculosis. The “American Heritage Dictionary” defines tuberculosis as a disease of men and animals caused by microorganism that manifests itself in lesions of the lung, bones, and other parts of the body. (American Heritage Dictionary: pg. 1301). This paper contains a summary of the history of the disease, the cause of the disease, ways to prevent the disease, and the medication and treatment for the disease. This disease has been around for a long time and there is still no cure for it only treatments.

Finding it early and finding it late can be a great deal when looking at the various symptoms of tuberculosis. Depending on what type of TB you are; secondary or active tuberculosis multiple symptoms can vary depending on how it spreads through your body. Typically, people with tuberculosis can’t honestly notice if they have TB which leads to major costly operations or death. If they do, it usually starts with a blood-tinged cough or pain in the chest. The blood-tinged cough can also be chronic (constant) and the pain in the chest can be felt simply through just breathing. Throughout the whole body, the most common symptoms can be, chills, fatigue, fever, sweating or sweating of muscles, loss of appetite etc. These common symptoms most likely are depicted as natural occurrences of the body, which is why it is truly not known when you have TB. Although if it occurs too often you can notice it instantly as long as you pay attention to the way your body feels. Along with the outside of the body, the inside of the body can be affected; specifically organs. The most commonly affected organs are the lymph nodes. The lymph nodes are most commonly

Over the past century, tuberculosis has taken the lives of more than one hundred million people. Today, roughly two billion people are infected with the bacteria that causes Tuberculosis and five to ten percent develop active tuberculosis within their lifetime. All in all, Tuberculosis resides to be one of the most fatal diseases in the world and is the top ranked killer amongst bacterial diseases. Almost two million people pass away from the infection each year (Furlow, 2010). Approximately thirteen percent of people that are infected with tuberculosis also have HIV, they are closely associated with one another (Tomford, 2010).

Tuberculosis disease is diagnosed through a medical evaluation involving various tests depending on the type of TB suspected. First, there are two kinds of tests that are used to detect whether or not the body has been infected with TB bacteria: the TB skin test (TST) and TB blood tests (CDC, 2016b). Both of these tests are used only to determine if the person has been infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Further testing is required to determine if the person has latent TB infection or if it has progressed to TB disease. If it is the latter additional tests are needed to

TB is caused by a bacterial infection known as mycobacterium tuberculosis. If a patient is sick with TB is considered a disease. The infection is prevalent in the HIV population because approximately 13 million Americans are effected by the TB bacteria. It typically involves the lungs but can also affect the brain and other organ systems. The TB germ is airborne and can live in the air for several hours. Once an affected person coughs or sneezes another person breathes in the germ and becomes infected. A patient with TB and HIV/AIDS will have to take an antibiotics long term to battle the infection. They will have to go through two phases of medication. The initial phase consists of utilizing drugs such as isoniazid, pyrazinamide, rifamycin, and ethambutol for the first couple of months. Then the patient will enter into the continuation phase, during this phase the patient will take the isoniazid and rifamycin for approximately four months. HIV patient’s that are taking antiretroviral for the HIV will have to take the antibiotics longer. A person taking treatment for TB has to be careful because the antibiotic can cause liver damage. According to the CDC, roughly 6% of all TB cases are from patients with HIV or AIDS. In 1992 the United States had a dramatic increase in TB cases but has decreased ever since. Recently a group of researchers at John Hopkins

TB, or Tuberculosis, is a chronic or acute contagious disease caused by a bacterial infection. TB is the leading cause of death from a single infectious disease, accounting for over a quarter of avoidable deaths among adults. It can affect several organs of the human body, including the brain, the kidneys and the bones, but it predominately manifests itself in the lungs where it is called "Pulmonary Tuberculosis".