HEALTH - TUBERCULOSIS
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria. TB primarily targets the lungs but may affect any area of the body such as the urinary tract, central nervous system, bones and/or joints, other organs, abdominal area, or lymph nodes. A tuberculosis infection that has spread through the blood to various organs of the body is termed miliary tuberculosis. With respiratory infections, TB is spread through the air from person to person through droplets of respiratory secretions such as sputum or aerosols released by coughing, sneezing, laughing, or breathing. Most of those who become infected with M. tuberculosis manage to confine the mycobacteria to a few cells in their lungs, where they stay alive but in an inactive form. This latent TB infection does not make the person sick or infectious and, in most cases, it does not progress to active tuberculosis. However, some people - especially those with compromised immune systems - may progress directly from initial TB infection to active tuberculosis. People who have HIV are much more likely to become sick if they contract TB. In another 5-10% of those with latent TB infection that has not been treated and who are not co-infected with HIV, the mycobacteria will later be reactivated and begin to multiply, leading to active progressive tuberculosis disease.
Symptoms
Latent TB. In this condition, you have a TB infection, but the bacteria remain in your body in an inactive state and cause no symptoms. Latent TB, also called inactive TB or TB infection, isn't contagious.
Active TB. This condition makes you sick and can spread to others. It can occur in the first few weeks after infection with the TB bacteria, or it might occur years later. Most people infected with TB germs never develop active TB.
Signs and symptoms of active TB include:
Cough
Unexplained weight loss
Fatigue
Fever
Night sweats
Chills
Loss of appetite
Treatment
If treatment for tuberculosis is administered in a proper and timely manner, it can cure tuberculosis. Treatment consists of taking several different antibiotics to help the body kill all of the tuberculosis bacteria. Along with taking the medications, a person who has active tuberculosis must stay home from school or work to prevent transmission to others. Treatment usually lasts at least 6 months and sometimes as long as 12 months.Get More Information
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