Tuberculosis

Jonathan

What is tuberculosis?

Tuberculosis (TB) is a potentially fatal disease that affects your lungs

Spread through tiny droplets released in the air via sneezes, coughs etc.

In 1985 TB became a huge problem because of HIV and AIDS which weaken your immune system so it can’t fight off the TB bacteria

Bacteria of Tuberculosis

The name of Tuberculosis is mycobacterium tuberculosis

The bacteria is a rod shape and is 2 - 4 µm long and .2 - .5 µm wide

The TB bacteria is not always active in your body, this is called latent TB

Getting TBYou can get TB by being around someone with Tb and have them

cough, sneeze, speak, or sing.

If you are around someone with active TB that have had treatment for at least 2 weeks there is a very slim chance of getting TB

Highly more likely to have Latent TB turn into active TB if you are HIV+ because it weakens your immune system

Some TB germs have developed the ability to survive treatment because the first antibiotics used were not all that great and did not kill of all the bacteria

With the drug resistant strains they have developed medications that will kill off the remaining bacteria of TB

Treatment

The treatment for Tb can take a very long time lasting between 6-9 months

The length of the patients treatment varies on their age,overall health etc.

If a patient is taking multiple medications at one time latent TB has a lower risk of becoming active

Side effects of TB include: Nausea or vomiting, Loss of appetite, A yellow color to your skin, Dark urine, A fever that lasts three or more days and has no obvious cause

A lot of patients will stop treatments a couple weeks in because they feel healthier but it is crucial to finish all weeks of treatments

People with latent TB still need to get treatment

SymptomsThe major symptoms of active TB are Coughing that lasts three or more

weeks, Coughing up blood, Chest pain, or pain with breathing or coughing, Unintentional weight loss, Fatigue, Fever, Night sweats, Chills, Loss of appetite

There are no symptoms of latent TB

There can also be different symptoms according to what organs it affects for example; tuberculosis of the spine may give you back pain, and tuberculosis in your kidneys might cause blood in your urine.

Prevention

If you have tuberculosis try to stay at home as much as possible and don’t go out for a few weeks

Ventilate the room you are staying in as much as possible, the germs of Tb spread more easily in small closed spaces where the air does not move

Always cover your mouth when you cough, sneeze, or laugh and throw it away

Where a mask when around people for the first few weeks to lower the chance of transmission

Risk factors

A weakened immune system puts at a more vulnerable position towards getting TB

If you have a lack of medical care and get TB you will most likely die because you can not afford the medications to keep you alive

Drinking lots of alcohol or using IV drugs makes you more vulnerable

Chewing tobacco puts you at a higher risk of attracting it and dying from it

hanging out with people that are sick increases chances of exposure to TB

Discovery

Robert Koch discovered Mycobacterium Tuberculosis on march 24, 1882. Koch was a german scientist. He gave a lecture announcing it to the public in 1904.

What it affects

Mycobacterium can affect several different organs of the body including the brain, kidneys but mostly the lungs. If the immune system can’t handle the disease and leaves it then the bacteria will go onto stage two. After this the germ multiplies rapidly and destroys the tissue of the lungs causing it to be much more deadly

Outbreak

The first sign of tuberculosis is in 1851 and at this time 1 in four people would die of tuberculosis in Europe and America. This was huge, 25% of the country's population could have been wiped out by one disease.

Sources

"Pathogen Life Cycle." Pathogen Life Cycle. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2015.

"Tuberculosis." Symptoms. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2015."Microorganisms – Types, Harmful Effects on Human Body,

Pictures."Onlineholistichealthnet. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Dec. 2015.