Tuberculosis, TB Symptoms, How TB spreads, Side Effects, Treatment of Tuberculosis

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How TB ( Tuberculosis ) spreads?
Side effects of Inhaling Bacteria of TB
Victims of Tuberculosis
Symptoms of Tuberculosis
Treatment of Tuberculosis

In 1982, a German physician Robert Koch discovered the bacteria name Mycobacterium tuberculosis as the cause of a famous infectious disease named tuberculosis (TB). He received Nobel Prize for this isolation as earlier TB patients were incurable due to improper treatment and were thought to be suffering from “Consumption” as they waste away by the passage of time. TB usually targets lungs but rest of the body can also be affected.

Atypical tuberculosis are the organisms that belong to the family of Mycobacterium. They live within our body without causing any damage and thus called colonizers. At times, they spread infections similar to tuberculosis that are difficult to cure. Drug therapy for one and a half year or for two years is employed to treat the infections caused by the colonizers.

How TB ( Tuberculosis ) spreads?

The bacteria of TB survive in the air when a TB patient coughs, spits, shouts or sneezes. The bacteria cannot be transferred by touching the clothes of the patient or by shaking hands. Any nearby person who inhales the air together with the TB patient is exposed to the risk. At time micro particles from the infected sputum of the patient remains elevated in the air and anyone who inhales the air receives the bacteria.

However, atypical tuberculosis is transmitted by un-pasteurized milk. Earlier children were affected by such TB as they drink milk that was not boiled. But now the disease has been controlled as boiled milk is used everywhere which kills bacteria on heating.

Side effects of Inhaling the Bacteria of TB

Tuberculosis bacteria on entering into lungs can swiftly multiplies and promote local lungs infection known as pneumonia. The lymph nodes associated with the lungs can also be affected by the bacteria and get enlarged. The hilar lymph nodes, situates in the centre of the chest and adjacent to the heart, are also involved in some cases.

Tb can also move to other parts of the body and infects the immune system of the body which defense against infections and diseases. However, the immune system has power to control the bacteria. The system isolates the bacteria from rest of the body by forming a scar tissue (fibrosis) around that makes the bacteria inactive. TB as a result of initial attack by the bacteria is known as primary TB. The patient neither shows symptoms of TB nor does he infects others. The deposition of calcium on scar tissues and lymph nodes makes it harder by the passage of time. They appear as marble balls in X-ray and called Granuloma, and can be misperceived as cancer in case calcium layer is not diagnosed in the X-ray.

If the immune system gets weaker, the bacteria succeed in breaking the seal and marching to other parts of the body. This stage is called secondary TB or reactivation TB. The defense system weakens in old age, by the treatment of diseases like cancer and also in the medications of bowel diseases. Pneumonia can also recur with the reactivation of TB. When TB spreads outside the lungs it usually affects lungs, kidneys, bone, spinal cord and lining of the brain.

Probable victims of TB ( Tuberculosis )

It is not determined that who will get TB and who will not, however some people are at more risk to get infected than others.

All those people who are living with the patients of active TB;
Homeless or poor people who spent most of their lives on footpaths or roads;
People in prison and nursing homes;
Foreign people who born in a country where the rate of TB is high;
Addicts of alcohol, etc.;
Health care workers; and
Diabetes patients, HIV infections and cancer patients are more vulnerable to develop the bacteria of TB.

The evidence of inherited TB is not very strong. In United States 10 to 15 million people are TB infected where 22,000 new cases of TB are registered every year. Around the globe, more than eight million TB cases occur every year.

Symptoms of Tuberculosis

TB cannot be instantly discovered. It takes a lot of time before the disease can be diagnosed. The symptoms of an active TB are weight loss, night sweats, weakness and fever. When the infection gets worse than chest pain, coughing, sputum of blood or material from lungs and shortness of breath happens. The symptoms will depend on the organ which is affected by the TB, in case TB crosses the lungs.

Treatment of Tuberculosis

A person who has normal X-ray of chest, positive skin test and no symptoms of TB may have inactive germs of TB, and is not contagious. An antibiotic treatment is prescribed to the person to avoid the activation of bacteria. isoniazid (INH) is used for this purpose for a duration of six to 12 months. There are five to 10 per cent risks that the TB will become active in a person with positive skin test.
A positive skin test person is asked to have a chest x-ray and sputum evidencing TB bacteria to check the activation of TB and is contagious.
A combination of medicine along with isoniazid is used to tackle an active TB: Rifampin (Rifadin), ethambutol (Myambutol), and pyrazinamide are usually used.

Initially four drugs are used for two months. The number is reduced with the passage of time. Streptomycin is injected in case the disease is extensive. Treatment can be of at least two months or a year.
TB is an infection of lungs caused by bacteria. It is contagious and spread through breath. It can remain inactive for years but on becoming active it shows certain symptoms. TB diagnosis is based on skin tests, chest x-rays, sputum analysis and PCR tests. HIV is mainly responsible for the increased number of TB cases and it is hoped that with the development in HIV treatment and control, the number of TB patients will also decrease.