What is "Tuberculosis"? Tuberculosis is a common and in some cases deadly infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually "Mycobacterium Tuberculosis" in humans. It is spread through the air when people who have active MTB infection cough, sneeze, or spit. Most infections in humans result in an asymptomatic, latent infection, and about one in ten latent infections eventually progresses to active disease.
Symptoms:
1. Chronic cough with blood-tinged sputum
2. Chest Pain
3. Fever
4. Night sweat
5. Weight loss
In the other 25% of active cases, the infection moves from the lungs, causing other kinds of TB, collectively denoted extrapulmonary tuberculosis. Extrapulmonary infection sites include the pleura in tuberculosis pleurisy, the central nervous system in meningitis, the lymphatic system in scrofula of the neck, the genitourinary system in urogenital tuberculosis, and bones and joints in Pott's disease of the spine.
Then how to prevent this disease?
1. Vaccines
Statens Serum Institute in Denmark has announced in the journal Nature Medicine that a new vaccine can fight tuberculosis before and after infection. It has been applied in mice successfully.
2. Screening
Mantoux tuberculin skin tests are often used for routine screening of high risk individuals. And chest photofluorography has been used in the past for mass screening for tuberculosis.
Tuberculosis Treatment:
Treatment for TB uses antibiotics to kill the bacteria. Effective TB treatment is difficult, due to the unusual structure and chemical composition of the mycobacterial cell wall, which makes many antibiotics ineffective and hinders the entry of drugs. But commonly used are isoniazid and rifampicin.
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