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Tuberculosis As A Contagious Disease Essay

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Tuberculosis (TB) is a highly contagious disease that could cause death if it is not treated. TB is caused by bacteria called Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and it affects the lungs and other human organs (Frith, 2014). Tuberculosis is an airborne disease that could be transmitted by sneezing, coughing, and speaking. According to world health organization (WHO), 9.6 million people were affected by Tuberculosis and 1.5 million died from the disease in 2014 worldwide. 9,421 cases of Tuberculosis were reported in United States in 2014 which has declined comparing to 26,673 cases reported in 1992. According to Center for Disease Control and Prevention, there are seven high-risk factor countries that are affected by Tuberculosis. Mexico, Philippines, Vietnam, India, china, Haiti, and Guatemala are the countries which still have high risk of Tuberculosis infection. Throughout history Tuberculosis was associated with different names. Some of those names are: phthisis and consumption in 18th century, white death and the great white plague in 19th century and other names to describe the horror caused by the disease. Previously people have used human breast milk, eating wolf livers, drinking elephant urine, and etc.as a treatment for TB (Frith,2014). In 21st century Tuberculosis is treated by medications like: isoniazid (INH), Rifampin (RIF), Rifapentine (RPT), Ethambutol (EMB), and Pyrazinamide (PZA). The treatments are highly effective and are used to treat people who are exposed and

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