Tuberculosis or TB is one of the leading causes of death that is due to an infectious disease called Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and only second to HIV/AIDS. When a person is infected with TB, the bacteria in the lungs multiply causing pneumonia; the patient experiences chest pain and has a persistent cough that often brings up blood. In addition, lymph nodes near the heart and lungs are enlarged. As the bacteria tries to spread to the other parts of the body they are interrupted by the body's immune system. The immune system forms scar tissue around the bacterium that helps fight the infection and prevents it from spreading within the body and to other people. If the bacteria manage to break through the scar, tissue the disease returns to an active state. Pneumonia develops and there is damage to kidneys, bones, and the meninges that line the spinal cord and brain.
Approximately one-third of the world’s population is infected with the microbe that causes TB, and 10 percent of infected persons will develop active TB at some point in their lives. In 2006, 9.2 million people worldwide developed active TB, and it is estimated that 1.7 million people died because of TB. However, estimates suggest that the rates of new cases and deaths due to TB show signs of slowing all through the world, latest increases in rates of drug-resistant TB have the possibility to reverse these gains. In 2006, an estimated 500,000 individuals all through the world developed multidrug-resistant (MDR) TB. Extensively drug-resistant (XDR) TB, a form of MDR TB that is much more difficult to treat, is recently described, and it had detected in at least 46 countries. XDR TB is MDR TB with concomitant resistance to any fluoroquinolone and to at least 1 of 3 injectable second-line anti-TB drugs.
In 2012, Dr. Mario Raviglione, Director of the WHO Stop TB Department, warned that the number of people becoming infected with MDT-TB has raised much. He added that too few patients are diagnosed and treated accordingly. The global campaign to reduce TB infections by half by 2015 could be seriously jeopardized by MDT-TB. It is either experts eradicate TB in lifetime, or the disease becomes increasingly resistant, harder to treat, and gains ground. In March 2013, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned about the serious funding shortage. Dr. Margaret Chan, Director-General of WHO announced that without expanded treatment and funding, the global fight against TB will be seriously weakened.
If a patient has a drug-resistant strain of TB, several drugs in addition to the main four are usually required. In addition, patients need to undergo drug therapy for longer periods. Sometimes surgery is needed to remove damaged lung tissue. The major obstruction to successful treatment is lack of obedience; as soon as they start feeling, better many patients stop taking their medication. It is significant to complete the treatment to eradicate Mycobacterium tuberculosis from the body of the patient definitely. Vitamin C helps destroy drug-resistant tuberculosis as illustrated by researchers; vitamin C can shorten the duration of the treatment when added to existing medications of TB. The BCG vaccine is used in several parts of the world where TB is common. It usually protects children and infants from the disease; however, its effects wear off when the patient reaches adulthood. Healthier methods of preventing tuberculosis or TB relapses include eating a healthful diet that boost ups the immune system with regular TB tests especially if the person works or lives in a high-risk environment, and a complete TB medication treatment. To prevent transmitting the disease to others, stay home, cover your mouth, and make sure to have proper ventilation.
Reference
CDC. (2014, March 15). Tuberculosis TB. Alanta, GA.
Roos, R. (2013, October 23). WHO sees progress on TB, but MDR-TB is big worry. CIDRAP ,
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WHO. (2014, March 15). World Tuberculosis Day - 24 March 2014. United States of America.
