Tuberculosis or TB for short is a very common and in many cases a latent disease

Tuberculosis or TB for short is a very common and in many cases a latent disease. Tuberculosis is caused by strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It mainly attacks the lungs but can also infect other parts of the body. When someone has latent tuberculosis the bacteria remains in your body in an inactive state and causes no symptoms. When a person has active tb it can show symptoms and signs, and can easily spread to others. Most of the population are infected with latent TB but, can possibly lead to active Tuberculosis. About one-quarter of the world’s population has latent TB. (McIntosh, 2017) However, Only about 10% of people infected with M. tuberculosis ever develop tuberculosis disease.
People who have inhaled the TB bacteria, but in whom the disease is controlled, are referred to as infected. The infection can also be call latent tuberculosis. This kind of tuberculosis show no symptoms.When a person has latent TB the immune system has walled off the organism in an inflammatory focus known as a granuloma. A person can have a positive skin test for TB, yet cannot transmit the disease to others. However, when TB is active the main signs and symptoms are cough, fever, night sweats, and weight loss. (Comas et al. 2009) Other symptoms may be loss of energy, poor appetite, a productive cough. Since these symptoms are common it can easily be blamed on another disease.
Tuberculosis is transmitted through air by inhaling droplets.When someone with active Tuberculosis coughs, sneezes, or talks, tiny droplets of saliva or mucus are expelled into the air, which can be inhaled by another person. Another Portal of entry of Mycobacterium tuberculosis can also be Breaks in the skin. The disease portal of entry is also its portal of exit, just as the bacterium can be expelled by sneezing, it can be inhaled by the nose and mouth. Ways you can prevent transmission is washing your hands frequently, cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze and follow treatment if taking medication for active tb. The tuberculosis vaccine can also be a way to prevent the disease. The vaccine is known as bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG).The vaccine will prevent the spread of tuberculosis and also tuberculous meningitis in children. Health officials recommend the vaccine in countries or communities where the rate of new infection is greater than 1% per year.
To come in contact with tuberculosis the droplet nuclei containing tubercle bacilli are inhaled, enter the lungs, and travel to the alveoli. Within 2 to 8 weeks, special immune cells called macrophages ingest and surround the tubercle bacilli. The cells form a barrier shell, called a granuloma, that keeps the bacilli contained and under control.If the immune system cannot keep the tubercle bacilli under control, the bacilli begin to multiply rapidly (TB disease).
The most common who get infected with tuberculosis are elderly or infants. Pregnant women, people with weak immune sysytem, and low socioeconomic will have a higher risk of infection.
To find out if a person has Mycobacterium tuberculosis the doctor will complete some tests to diagnose tuberculosis. You may not be hospitalized for either the initial tests or the beginning of treatment. The first test that is able to diagnose tb is a Chest X-ray. The RX is most common diagnostic test that leads to the suspicion of infection.In latent TB, an X-ray will show an abnormality in the mid and lower lung fields, and lymph nodes may be inflamed. Another way to test for tb is the Mantoux skin test. The test is also known as a tuberculin skin test, TST or PPD for short. This test helps identify people infected with M. tuberculosis but who have no symptoms. The doctor or a clinical staff will inject 5 units of purified protein derivative (PPD) into your skin. A person has to wait 48 hours to get it read but if a raised bump of more than 5mm then you have been diagnosed with tuberculosis. Last test to test for Tuberculosis is a Sputum sample. A sputum sample is the mucus you cough up. The sample is tested for acid-fast bacilli. A sputum test is the only test that confirms a TB diagnosis. If the accurate sample is induced, a lab test may give a positive result in up to 30% of people with active disease. Treatment for latent tb is much easier than active tb. You only take one medication to prevent it from becoming active and kill the bacteria. With active tuberculosis you will need treatment for 6 months. It is very important to take them directly as instructed. A person should not stop medication until the prescribed amount of time has been reached, if stopped to soon bacteria that is still alive can develop a resistance to the drugs. The Doctors will prescribe special medications that you must take for six to nine months. Must follow instructions thoroughly.The drugs can be Isoniazid Rifampin (Rifadin, Rimactane)Ethambutol (Myambutol). It will be two months with Rifater (isoniazid, rifampin, and pyrazinamide then four months of isoniazid and rifampin (Rifamate, Rimactane) Finally, ethambutol (Myambutol) or streptomycin added until your drug sensitivity is known. Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a very slow-growing organism and may take up to six weeks to grow in a culture media. Doctors will use multiple drugs to reduce the likelihood of resistant organisms emerging. The drugs will be changed often or chosen depending on the laboratory results. Doctors may have you come to the office for doses, if you are not taking the medication correctly. The most common cause of treatment failure and spread of infection is people’s failure to comply with the medical regimen. This can lead to the emergence of drug-resistant organisms.A person will take Isoniazid for up to a year, with routine checkups to make sure you are taking it as prescribed and not causing any side effects.
Research is currently being done and scientists have opened the door to new treatments for the disease. On March 18, 2018 research conducted by Rockefeller scientists offers hope for a new weapon against tuberculosis. Unfortunately the cure is an antibiotic that kills M. tuberculosis in the laboratory, and is not suitable for clinical use. To be useful against tuberculosis in the real world, however, an antibiotic must be absorbed by the gut and eventually reach the lungs when taken orally something that the antibiotic cannot do. The antibiotic is called Fidaxomicin.