Tuberculosis or TB was once the leading cause of death in the United States. It has traveled with man around the world and can be found everywhere. It has afflicted man since before recorded history. The organism that causes the disease has been found in Egyptian mummies.
What causes TB
TB is caused by bacteria called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It can attack any part of the body but usually attacks the lungs. You get TB from breathing in the tiny droplets in the air that contain the TB bacteria. They get into the air when an infected person coughs, sneezes, even just talks. Most people, who are infected this way, quickly fight off the bacteria. Their immune system will do its job and the bacteria will be contained. But unless the person receives treatment, they will always be infected.
Only about one in ten people infected actually develop active TB.
Infection vs disease
Many people who have a TB infection never develop the disease. STD and TB Prevention, people with TB infection:
* have no symptoms
* don't feel sick
* aren't contagious
* will usually test positive to a skin test for TB
* can develop TB disease later
An infected person can move to the active phase if for some reason their immune system weakens. That happens to people with other diseases. Young children, babies and sometimes the elderly can also have weakened immune systems. The Center for TB Prevention also warns that people with the following conditions could have weakened immune systems:
* HIV infection
* substance abuse
* diabetes mellitus
* silicosis, which is a disabling occupational lung disease
* cancer of the head or neck
* leukemia or lymphoma
* severe kidney disease
* low body weight
* organ transplant recipients
Older adults are at greater risk of TB because aging may weaken their immune systems.
A TB test is the only sure way to find out if you have the disease or have an infection. The Center for TB Prevention recommends you get tested if:
* you have HIV or another disease that puts you at high risk
* you are from a country or have visited a country where TB is common (That includes most of Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, and Asia except Japan)
* you have spent time with a person who has active TB
* you inject drugs
* you spend considerable time or live in places where the disease is prevalent in this country
If the disease becomes active, a person now becomes contagious and can easily spread the disease. The main symptoms are a bad cough that lasts a couple of weeks, pain in the chest and coughing up blood. Those symptoms can also be accompanied by fatigue, weight loss, swollen lymph nodes, night sweats and fever. People with tuberculosis may be at higher risk of pneumothorax, a condition that can lead to collapsed lung. The lining of the lung can also become filled with fluid, a condition known as pleural effusion,
Treatment
If you test positive for TB it is important you get treatment and follow all of the treatment guidelines. One of the reasons TB is making a comeback, is that people do not continue their treatment for as long as they need to. The infection isn't over and in fact, the bacteria that cause TB may get even stronger. There are now cases of TB superbugs that are drug resistant.
Treatment for TB can last months and it's important that the drug treatment continue for the required time frame.
There is a vaccine in use for TB. It is called BCG. It is not widely used in the United States, but is often given to infants and small children in other countries. It is not positive protection from TB and can cause a reaction to a TB skin test.
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