Tuberculosis (TB) is a potentially serious infectious disorder that predominantly affects human lungs. The pathogenic bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis that causes the disease can be transmitted from one person to another through droplets into the air via coughs and sneezes.
Once rare in developed countries, tuberculosis infections increased in 1985, partially due to the development of HIV, the virus which causes AIDS. HIV reduce the immunity system’s response so that it can not fight the TB germs.
Most strains of tuberculosis are resistant to the drugs used to treat the disease. People who have active tuberculosis must simply take several types of medications for several months to eliminate the infection and prevent the development of antibiotic resistance.
Even though the body can harbor the bacteria which cause tuberculosis, the immune system usually can keep you from becoming sick. For this reason, doctors differentiated 2 forms of the infection:
Latent TB
Within this disorder, there is a TB infection, but the bacteria remain in the human body in an inactive stateand cause no signs or symptoms}. Latent TB, additionally called inactive TB, is not infectious. It can develop in to active TB, so treatment is very important to the individual with latent TB and to help control the spread of TB. Approximately two billion people now have latent TB.
Active TB
This condition causes sickness and in the majority of cases can spread to other individuals. It can occur in the very first couple of weeks after infection with the TB bacteria, or it may occur years later. The signs and symptoms of active TB include: coughing that lasts three months, coughing up blood, chest pain or pain associated with coughing or breathing, weight loss, fatigue, fever, night sweats, chills, loss of appetite.
Tuberculosis may also affect other parts of your body, as well as your kidneys, brain or backbone. When TB occurs outside your lungs, symptoms and signs vary based on your organs involved. For instance, tuberculosis of the spine may possibly give you back pain, and also tuberculosis in your kidneys may lead to blood in your urine|feces.