Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (TB) is a condition that has ravaged human beings for ages. It kills nearly two million people worldwide and primarily affects the lungs. The spread of tuberculosis is mainly due to more people living in crowded conditions, increased human migration, and increased lack of health care and increased drug resistant strains of TB.

What Causes Tuberculosis?

Tuberculosis is caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It spreads in microscopic droplets that are released into the air when someone with active TB coughs, speaks, laughs or sneezes.

TB is contagious but not that easy to catch. You are more likely to catch it from close contact with an infected family member or co-worker than a stranger. A person who had been effectively treated for about two weeks is no longer contagious.

Though it can attack any body organs and tissue, it primarily affects the lungs. Two to eight weeks after the lungs are affected, your immune system produces macrophages which are specialized white blood cells. They create a wall around the tuberculosis bacteria that makes them ineffective. This can continue for years and makes the TB bacteria dormant in your lungs.

If the immune defense fails, the TB will instead begin exploiting the macrophages for their own survival. They force the white blood cells to form into tightly packed groups called granulomas. The bacteria multiply inside the granulomas, break out and spill into the lungs’ airways causing large air spaces to form.

The air spaces make an ideal breeding ground for more bacteria. The bacteria then spread to other parts of the lungs and other parts of the body.

What are TB Symptoms?

Tuberculosis mainly affects the lungs. Coughing may be the only indication of the infection initially. The symptoms of active TB include:

• A slight fever,
• Night sweats,
• Loss of appetite,
• A cough lasting three or more weeks that may produce discolored or bloody sputum,
• Loss of appetite,
• Weight loss, and
• Pain with breathing or coughing

If tuberculosis is outside your lungs, you may get other symptoms. For example, if the TB is in your spine, you may get back pain, if it affects your kidney, you may get blood in your urine.

Treatment of TB

Treating TB can be a very lengthy exercise. One may have to take antibiotics for six to twelve months to completely destroy the bacteria. The exact drugs and length of treatment will depend on your age, health and whether you have TB infection or active TB.

Completing TB treatment is essential to completely destroy the bacteria from your body. Stopping treatment or skipping doses can create drug-resistant strains that may be more difficult to treat.

Some people may need to be hospitalized in order to give them the best treatment.

Prevention of TB

TB is preventable especially if those with the condition are treated before they develop the active disease. These are a few things that one does to protect themselves and others:

• Get properly tested for TB,
• Keep your immune system healthy,
• Finish the entire course of medication,
• Ensure adequate ventilation in your home,
• Consider preventative therapy like taking the vaccine BCG

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