Tuberculosis

Each person and each country has a different style of eating. The things that we are eating are effecting us by the physical and also the psychical way. But some things we can’t effect. One of those things is also tubercolosis.

Tuberculosis (TB) is chronic or acute bacterial infection, which is caused by the Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a bacteria that is an aerobe, rod shaped, acid fast, that has a characteristic mycolic acid cell wall. It’s about 2 to 4 micrometers long. This bacterium can effect several organs of the human body, including the brain, the kidneys and the bones, but most commonly it affects the lungs. TB has existed since at least 2 000BC. References about TB can be found in the writings of ancient Babylon, Egypt and also China. The term tuberculosis was first used in 1839. It is derived from the Latin word tubercula, meaning a small lump. TB reappeared in Europe and the United States in the epidemic form in the 19th century. Now eight million new cases of tuberculosis occur each year, and also tuberculosis causes about two million deaths each year. The number infected with this disease is expected to increase in the next few years, specially in developing countries, such as in Africa and South East Asia. TB is transmitted from person to person. When a person who is sick with TB coughs, sneezes, or speaks, small particles that carry two or three viable bacteria are realized in the air. When these particles are inhaled, bacteria lodge in the lungs and multiply. A less common way of transmission is through the skin. For example TB has also been reported in people who have received tattoos and people who had been circumcised. A person may become infected with TB bacteria and not develop the disease. His or her immune system may destroy the bacteria completely. In fact, only 5 to 10 percent of those
infected with TB actually become sick. If a person does contract the disease, it can occur in two stages as primary or the secondary. In the primary TB, a person has become infected with the TB bacteria but often is not aware of it, since this stage of the disease does not produce noticeable symptoms. It’s like a flu-like illness. At this primary stage of TB, the disease does not progress, but the bacteria may stay in the body for many years. If the immune system becomes weakened, the tubercule opens, releasing the bacteria, and the infection may develop into active disease, known as secondary TB.

In the secondary disease dormant bacteria multiply and destroy tissue in the lungs. They also may spread to the rest of the body so through the bloodstream. At this secondary stage, carries of the TB can infect others. Symptoms of TB include coughing, chest pain, shortness of breath, loss of appetite, weight loss, fever, chills, and fatigue. Children and people with weakened immune systems can really easy get TB. “General preventive measures can be taken to reduce the spread of TB in public places. Ventilation systems lessen the chance of infection by dispersing the bacteria. Ultraviolet lighting also reduces, but does not eliminate, the threat of infection by killing

TB bacteria in confined spaces. Vaccines, such as the Bacillus Calmette Guerin vaccine (BCG), prepared from attenuated bacteria, are another preventive measure. The BCG vaccine is most effective in preventing childhood cases of TB.
With the advent of effective antibiotics for TB, drug therapy has become the cornerstone of treatment. However, the development of bacterial resistance to drugs is a real problem with single-drug treatment. Therefore, all recommended therapies include multiple effective drugs given for at least 6 months, often for as long as 9 to 12 months. Adjustments to the treatments are made based on susceptibility of the bacterial strain. A combination of antibiotics, including isoniazid, rifampin, streptomycin, pyrazinamide, and ethambutol, is usually prescribed.”

Tuberculosis
“Lung tissue calcification, resulting from pulmonary tuberculosis, appears as yellow patches within the chest area of this human X-ray. When airborne phlegm contaminated with the bacillus Mycobacterium tuberculosis is inhaled, nodular lesions, called tubercles, may form in the lungs and spread through the nearest lymph node.”.