Tuberculosis : An Infectious Disease Of Particular Interest Essay

Bacterial pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis causes tuberculosis a complex granulomatous disease which is a global health concern. It is a very slow growing bacteria, thus is extremely time consuming to culture in laboratory. It can survive the attack of the immune arsenal of our body; can successfully hide inside the macrophage. This makes long periods of uninterrupted antibiotic treatment necessary for the patients with tuberculosis and contributes to drug resistance very quickly [WHO 2014]. All this poses an extreme challenge to the scientists and the medical community to develop effective drug, monitor and treat this disease across globe. Before the discovery of anti-tubercular drugs, this disease was one of the most dreaded diseases. In absence of any drugs the only form of treatment recommended was healthy diet, rest and fresh air. Patients were sent to Tuberculosis sanatorium hoping that they might survive. The origin of this pathogen is traced back to Africa around 70,000 years ago and they successfully coevolved with humans as they migrated out of Africa and settled across the globe. Nearly 10,000 years ago there was a sudden change in human demography and the human population density increased suddenly, this is termed as Neolithic Demographic Transition. Genomic data of Mycobacterium across

Many people take breathing for granted, some never give it a second thought until a problem presents itself. Respiratory diseases affect millions of Americans as well as people from all over the world. Anyone can suffer from these disorders to include men, women, and children, with conditions ranging from mild, moderate, to chronic in nature. This paper will focus on one of the many respiratory disease called mycobacterium tuberculosis; more commonly referred to as TB.

“Tuberculosis (TB), a multisystem disease with myriad presentations and manifestations, is the most common cause of infectious disease–related mortality worldwide. Although TB rates are decreasing in the United States, the disease is becoming more common in many parts of the world. In addition, the prevalence of drug-resistant TB is increasing worldwide. TB is caused by M tuberculosis, a slow-growing obligate aerobe and a facultative intracellular parasite. The organism grows in parallel groups called cords (as seen in the image below). It retains many

Tuberculosis is a disease cause by a bacterium that spreads when a person infected with the virus, sneezes, coughs, or even talks and the germs make it into the air for another person to breathe. This bacterium primarily affects the lungs and prevents the proper functioning of the respiratory system. Tuberculosis continues to be a problem in the United States and the problem is even bigger in developing countries such as India where they have seen the growth of MDR-TB cases. The following annotated bibliographies include a variety of peer review journals, a CDC website and the RX for survival video, which addresses the burden of tuberculosis in different parts of the world. The bibliographies also look at the risk factors, prevalence, mortality,

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a pathogen, which its physiology is directly linked to features of tuberculosis that it causes. The crucial feature for a mycobacteria’s survival is its unique cell wall structure. The insoluble cell wall core of MTB is formed by a large variety of lipid-containing molecules, such as mycolic acid, that are covalently attached (6). This hydrophobic cell wall provides a physical protection from the host immune response and serves as a barrier against many toxic insults (2). Further, the complex MTB cell wall is impermeable to both hydrophobic and hydrophilic molecules, resulting in inherent resistance of MTB to most common antibiotics (8). Lipoarabinomannan is an antigen on the outside of the organism. This antigen is another important component of the cell wall because it inhibit the fusion of Mycobacterium-containing phagosomes with lysosomal compartments (4). Lipoarabinomannan hinders the fusion of phagosome with lysosome by impairing Ca2+/calmodulin pathway and inactivates macrophages (8). Therefore, this cell-surface component of MTB is able to facilitate the survival of mycrobacteria within macrophages (8). Also, MTB is able to survive the harsh environment of the host tissues by utilizing any available

Tuberculosis is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, a bacterium that usually affects the victim’s lungs and is spread through the air. TB spreads from one community or country to another as people travel or through immigration to new areas. Today’s modern world of travel makes health and healthcare a global issue. Although TB rates are decreasing in the United States, the disease is becoming more common in many parts of the world. In addition, the prevalence of drug-resistant TB is increasing worldwide.

Mycobacteria are rod-shaped bacteria which require oxygen for growth. Each species has an acid-fast staining property during some stage of its growth cycle. It has thick, waxy, outer coating which can lead them to thrive in aquatic environments. For some time, scientists have known of bacteria that are similar to Mycobacterium tuberculosis, but that grow and act differently. When tuberculosis was a much more widespread problem and microbiology was much less able to tell the difference between similar microbes, these atypical mycobacteria were ignored. Today, they have been classified more precisely as members of the same species and called atypical (or nontuberculosis) mycobacteria. Although the medical profession has known about these atypical

Tuberculosis (TB) is a CDC (Centers for Disease Control) notifiable disease which is caused by an infectious bacterium that was discovered by a man named Robert Koch in 1882. This infectious bacterium that causes Tuberculosis is called Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), and is also known as Koch 's Bacillus. According to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (2015), Mtb is a small, slow-growing bacterium that can live only in people. It is not found in other animals, insects, soil, or other non-living things. Mtb is an aerobic bacterium, which means

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the cause of tuberculosis in humans. The only known carrier of this particular bacterium is humans. Mycobacterium bovis is the etiologic agent of TUBERCULOSIS that’s found in cows but found rarely in humans, but

Tuberculosis; often referred to as the silent killer, is a highly infectious disease that is contracted annually by 9.3 million individuals globally, and causes 1.8 million deaths. It’s high mortality rate led to the formation of the American Lung Association in the United States in 1904, after it was declared the leading cause of death during the nineteenth century and early twentieth century. The origin of tuberculosis is not certain; the first documented deaths were recorded in ancient Egypt and Greece, when it was known fittingly as “consumption”, coined for of its all-consuming nature. Today, tuberculosis is more of a problem in developing countries, but is still a threat in the United States. To take preventative measures to avoid contracting this deadly disease it is important to know the causes, life-cycle, how its diagnosed, interactions with the immune system, and public health actions to reduce risk of infection.Tuberculosis is a facultative intercellular bacterial parasite caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Mycobacteria are rod shaped in appearance and is a gram-positive bacterium. One characteristic unique to Mycobacteria is the addition to an extra layer beyond the thick peptidoglycan cell wall that is composed of lipids and polysaccharides; this gives M. tuberculosis a unique envelope that makes the cell have low permeability (advantage against the immune system). M. Tuberculosis doubles it’s population every 18-24 hours, which is considered

In many cases, Mycobacterium tuberculosis usually develops because of inconsistent consumptions of drugs. Most of the time, most people don’t even know they are infected until symptoms occur because this pathogen is easily transmitted through air exchange (Medline Library, 2005). Although this pathogen usually remains inactive even when it is in the immune system, it becomes

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

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is defined and characterized as a slow growing, acid-fast bacterium possessing a complex cell envelope. It is the causative agent of the pulmonary infection Tuberculosis (TB). Generally, M. tuberculosis infects the respiratory system but advanced disease can show other affected areas such as the skin, circulatory system, lymphatic system, central nervous system and gastrointestinal system (Kassim, 2004).

Tuberculosis, also identified as TB, has been around for countless years. In the past, however, the disease was not known, which made it untreatable in most healthcare settings. The evolution of time made it possible to easily detect and manage tuberculosis before people were adversely affected by it. It is a disease that often affects an individual’s lungs, but it can also affect other body parts. The spine, kidneys, bones, and even the lymph nodes may sometimes be affected by the disease. The spread is usually from one person with the disease to an uninfected person through the air. Whenever individuals with the TB disease cough, laugh, or even talk, the disease is spread through tiny droplets that are found in the person’s respiratory

Rpf-dependent mycobacteria appear to underlie the difficulty we have in improving TB treatment, yet their presence appears to be driven, by both treatment and host factors [20]. It is noteworthy to mention that Rpf-dependent M. tuberculosis bacilli from sputum have been