Tuberculosis ( Tb ) : A Deadly Airborne Pathogen

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 is a bacterial infection that can be spread in the lungs, lymph nodes, and bloodstream and to any part of an organ in the body. They are two types of tuberculosis which, is active 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 (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 is a disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis that most commonly affects the lungs. The etiologic agent can be expelled from one infected person via a sneeze or a cough, and enter the air and then the body of another person, leading to another infected person (“Tuberculosis, 2012). According to “What is TB?” (n.d.), someone who has diagnosed tuberculosis but is not receiving any form of treatment can pass the disease to up to 15 people in on year. Treatment of TB is necessary, so if symptoms are ignored, an infected person could die. Prevalence of this disease is not as common in the United States as it is in other countries. In 2014, there were approximately 9,421 reported cases; trends show that TB prevalence continues to decreases each year. Of

This disease is passed from human to human through a simple cough. The agents from the M. tuberculosis complex directly attack the respiratory system, specifically the lungs in most cases. The microbe can also effect the brain, kidneys or spine (Biggest). From there the disease can take two forms, latent or active. In Figure 1, the chart shows the aggressiveness difference between latent and active. Patients that had HIV were found to have a higher chance of catching the microbe or becoming re-infected with the disease. Latent TB is basically TB with the symptoms turned off. When tested for the infections, the results are positive, but the patient does not feel sick or show any symptoms. Latent TB patients will not spread the infection and are not infectious (Biggest). Without treatment very few cases will morph into the active form within two years of infection. Active form is the most aggressive and contains the most concern. Symptoms include, weight loss, loss of appetite, fever, fatigue and chills. When TB has infected the lungs patients will witness chest pain, coughing for more than three weeks and may get as far as coughing up blood (Biggest). This form is very infectious and can be passed easily through the air as an infected person coughs the microbes into the surrounding air. For now, no vaccines or drugs have been found to completely cure Tuberculosis. Only the symptoms can be dealt with. Unfortunately, there is a new strands emerging that is multidrug- resistant and extensively drug-resistant where treatment is no longer an option

Communicable Disease Paper Tuberculosis  Communicable diseases rely on fluid exchange, contaminated substance, or close contact to travel from an infected carrier to a healthy individual. Many people have never heard of a disease called tuberculosis (TB) or not fully aware how serious this disease really is. I will briefly summarize the research that was conducted on tuberculosis by describing the disease in details and discussing efforts to control it, indentify environmental factors related to tuberculosis, and explain the influence of lifestyles, socioeconomic status, as well as disease management. I will also briefly describe what public health departments are doing to reduce the threat, and include data, evidence, and plan to

(TB) is a disease that affects the lungs and other parts of the body. It can be fatal in late cases. TB is caused by a bacteria called Mycobacterium 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.

Although highly contagious through air, TB cannot be contracted from shaking hands or sharing a drink. The most common symptoms include severe coughing, coughing up blood, fatigue, loss of appetite, weight loss, chills, night sweats, and fever. When a person has tuberculosis but has no symptoms and cannot spread it, they have latent TB. People who have latent TB can have it for years without knowing because it is not noticeable until it reaches TB disease and becomes active. Usually latent TB turns to TB disease when the immune system becomes weak and cannot fight it off, and then turns contagious (Basic TB Facts 2012).

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

Tuberculosis is an infectious disease caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Marieb, 2012). Tuberculosis is a contagious infection that begins in the lungs and spread to other organs in the body including the kidneys, brain and bones. Tuberculosis is spread by inhaling airborne droplets from an infected person. These airborne particles are spread when the infected person sneezes, coughs or laughs. Tuberculosis cannot be spread, by contact. Tuberculosis is caused by a rod shaped bacterium or bacillus called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. These droplets are discharged into the air by a person with active tuberculosis (Britannica, 2012). The spreading progress is very effective. These droplets can remain in the air for several hours in addition it only needs ten bacilli to start an infection. When the infected air is breathed in, the bacilli enter the lungs through the bronchioles and into the alveoli. The bacilli then infect the alveoli

Tuberculosis does show any different physical signs than regular tuberculosis. Both forms of tuberculosis show coughing for more than 3 weeks, coughing up blood or mucus, chest pain, fatigue/weakness, weight loss and loss of appetite, fever, and chills (1). Tuberculosis is easily caught by a new patient because the air that is contaminated by a carrier of the bacteria who has been in the room for a rather long time. Meaning if a person visits the carrier and goes into the carrier’s bedroom for an extended length of time, then that person could possibly contract tuberculosis. Not only is immediate contact a key factor in developing tuberculosis, health, where a person lives, and if that person developed tuberculosis in the past. These factors all accumulate and help in the spread of the disease from person to person.

The disease can be transmitted mainly through the air, but there are other means of being infected with TB. Alcohol and drug abuse are some of the popular means in which infection can occur and since the drugs weaken the immune system, the spread of the ailment can be rather fast. Terminal diseases like HIV and cancer reduce the immune system and this promotes propagation of the disease into an individual’s body system.