Tuberculosis is caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The bacteria usually attack the lungs, but TB bacteria can attack any part of the body such as the kidney, spine, and brain. Not everyone infected with TB bacteria becomes sick. As a result, two TB-related conditions exist: latent TB infection (LTBI) and TB disease. If not treated properly, TB disease can be fatal, TB bacteria are spread through the air from one person to another. The TB bacteria are put into the air when a person with TB disease of the lungs or throat coughs, speaks, or sings. People nearby may breathe in these bacteria and become infected is NOT spread by shaking someone’s hand or sharing food or drink.
It’s also not transferable by kissing another person. Symptoms of TB disease depend on where in the body the TB bacteria are growing. TB bacteria usually grow in the lungs (pulmonary TB). TB disease in the lungs may cause symptoms such as a bad cough that could last three weeks, weight loss, and chills and even signs of a fever. It also may cause profuse sweating at night. Some people develop TB disease soon after becoming infected before their immune system can fight the TB bacteria. Other people may get sick years later, when their immune system becomes weak for another reason. Overall, about 5 to 10% of infected persons who do not receive treatment for latent TB infection will develop TB disease at some time in their lives. For persons whose immune systems are weak, especially those with HIV infection, the risk of developing TB disease is much higher than for persons with normal immune systems.
TB is more common and poor and harsh communities. Do to inefficient income and terrible hygiene status TB is easier to spread in these countries like Africa. A person who usually gets Tb is someone who has also contracted HIV. there are also many forms of TB.Drug-resistant TB (DR TB) is spread the same way that drug-susceptible TB is spread. TB is spread through the air from one person to another. The TB bacteria are put into the air when a person with TB disease of the lungs or throat coughs, sneezes, speaks, or sings. People nearby may breathe in these bacteria and become infected.
By the dawn of the 19th century, tuberculosis—or consumption—had killed one in seven of all people that had ever lived. Throughout much of the 1800s, consumptive patients sought “the cure” in sanatoriums, where it was believed that rest and a healthful climate could change the course of the disease. In 1882, Robert Koch’s discovery of the tubercule baccilum revealed that TB was not genetic, but rather highly contagious; it was also somewhat preventable through good hygiene. After some hesitation, the medical community embraced Koch’s findings, and the U.S. launched massive public health campaigns to educate the public on tuberculosis prevention and treatment. Browse a gallery of images depicting Americans’ fight against one of the deadliest diseases in human history. The consequence for ignoring treatment or not properly being treated is death. Only a certain number of people who are diagnosed with TB likely to live, in other words it’s the silent killer.
