World Tuberculosis Day 2018: Know all about Tuberculosis (TB) Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment
New Delhi : Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) that mainly affects your lungs, but can also affect other parts of the body.The bacteria that cause tuberculosis are spread from one person to another through tiny droplets released into the air via coughs and sneezes. The classic symptoms of active TB are a chronic cough with blood-containing sputum, fever, night sweats, and weight loss.
Diagnosis of active TB is based on chest X-rays, as well as microscopic examination and culture of body fluids.[7] Diagnosis of latent TB relies on the tuberculin skin test (TST) or blood tests.
Types of Tuberculosis disease
Latent TB: TB bacteria can live in the body without making you sick. This is called latent TB infection . In most people who breathe in TB bacteria and become infected, the body is able to fight the bacteria to stop them from growing. People with latent TB infection do not feel sick, do not have any symptoms, and cannot spread TB bacteria to others.
Active TB: This condition makes you sick and can spread to others. It can occur in the first few weeks after infection with the TB bacteria, or it might occur years later. Many people who have latent TB infection never develop TB disease. Some people develop TB disease soon after becoming infected (within weeks) 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.
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Signs and symptoms of Tuberculosis:
- 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
Tuberculosis disease (TB) Tests
Chest X-Ray: Doctors generally order chest X-ray tests in conjunction with taking a medical history and performing a physical exam to confirm or exclude a suspected chest.
Some of the common reasons to order a chest X-ray test are listed below:
- Cough
- Shortness of breath
- Chest pain
- Poor oxygenation (hypoxia)
- Back pain
- Chest injury
- Fever
What is the treatment for tuberculosis?
'Normal' antibiotics do not kill tuberculosis (TB) germs (bacteria). You need to take a combination of special antibiotics for several months. Standard treatment is usually for six months. The exact drugs and length of treatment depend on your age, overall health, possible drug resistance, the form of TB (latent or active) and the infection's location in the body.
Input from Wikipedia and Medical Website
