Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis is known as TB. It is a bacterial infection that can be transmitted through the lymph nodes and through the blood stream to any member of the body, which often affects the lungs and the young adult population where they produce side effects in youth. In the past, tuberculosis was a disease spread around the world and was controlled with the help of antibiotics that appeared at the time. But the bacteria causing it has evolved to become resistant to antibiotics discovered at the time, and currently the incidence of tuberculosis is problematic, especially in large cities, so the disease must be treated immediately to detect the risk of spreading to many people. Tuberculosis is one of the main causes of death after AIDS and more often among women aged 15-44 years. And an estimated 1.5 million deaths per 9 million infected people. Tuberculosis is divided into two types: hidden TB, which is treated with one antibiotic, and active TB, which many antibiotics are used to treat to prevent bacterial resistance to antibiotics.
Tuberculosis is classified as an infectious disease can be transmitted from person to person through the air through sneezing or cough, so the person who deals with a large number of people with TB in the active state is more susceptible to infection than other people, and if not show the symptoms of human The bacteria are still in a state of inactivity, and the bacteria in the idle state do not cause infection, but they will eventually become active. This does not mean that the treatment is delayed and delayed, because early treatment will help eliminate the inactive bacteria before Active, and with minimal damage to the body.
Symptoms of tuberculosis
In fact, a person may not realize that he is infected with the initial stage of tuberculosis only when conducting routine laboratory tests because it is a disease that often does not show any symptoms on some of the infected, and this is because the bacteria can live in the case of idle inside the body, But when the immune system has problems that weaken it, such as those with AIDS and older adults, in this case the bacteria move from the idle state and become effective. These bacteria cause the death of the tissues of the organs that affect them. If this is not treated, The disease has been lost Causing human death. Symptoms of TB may vary from the initial stage of the disease to the active stage of the disease.
Symptoms of TB in its active state include:
- Feeling uneasy, lethargy and general weakness.
- Cough, and may be accompanied by an outflow of blood with mucus.
- weakness.
- Shortness of breath.
- Weight loss.
- High body temperature.
- Night sweats.
- Feeling chest pain when breathing.
- Check with your doctor if you experience any of these symptoms, and if you are in contact with a person with TB.
Diagnosis of tuberculosis
Sometimes symptoms of TB may be diagnosed as symptoms of another disease. For example, a blood discharge with mucus may be diagnosed as a symptom of bronchitis or pneumonia, so check with your doctor to assess the symptoms and diagnose the disease accurately and determine the degree of progression by Listen to the sound of the lungs and then test the skin by inserting small injections into the forearm and seeing the result. But the skin test is considered inaccurate. The doctor may use other tests, such as blood tests and x-rays of the chest. Some types of animals can be infected with tuberculosis, including birds, rodents, reptiles, livestock and deer. Bovine tuberculosis has been eradicated in some deer and cattle herds in New Zealand.
Treatment of tuberculosis
- One of the characteristics of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis cell is that it is surrounded by a wall with abnormal structure and chemical structure. This is difficult for the treatment process because it prevents the entry of drugs and invalidates the work of antibiotics, which are the basis of treatment for tuberculosis. Many antibiotics are used to treat TB, such as: isoniazid and most common rifampicin. It is preferable to treat tuberculosis with direct control to ensure that the medication is taken in a timely manner and to reduce the non-adherence to the drug. This behavior is unacceptable. This is one of the recommendations of the World Health Organization. Treatment may vary from one to several years.
The treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis is approximately six months. Many antibiotics are used. Four antibiotics are given, containing rifampicin, isoniazid, pyrazinamide and ethamputol in the first two months. In the last four months, rifampicin and isoniazid are given only with the possibility of adding ethambutol as an alternative in case of resistance High isoniazid in the last four months.
In the case of recovery from the disease and return to the body must first be tested before the report of treatment to detect the presence of any sensitivity to any type of antibiotics used in the treatment. If resistant tuberculosis is detected, treatment is recommended for 18-24 months using at least four active antibiotics.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has undertaken several functions to address tuberculosis, including:
- Formulation of tuberculosis research programs.