Tuberculosis
Introduction
Tuberculosis is a chronic infectious disease and it caused by bacteria ( Mycobacterium tuberculosis).
It usually affects the lungs, but it can also affects other parts of the body such as brain, kidneys, and spine. There are many types of TB infection, but the main two types are called, one active, two latent.
Active TB is when people feel sick and have symptoms of TB disease like chest pain and coughing. When they cough they spread many TB germs in to the air and other people who breath in the air of containing TB bacteria, they will be infected. However, people with latent disease have the TB bacteria in their bodies, but they do not feel sick and they do not have the symptoms of TB also they cannot transmit the TB germs to other people, (world Health Organization 2017).The aim of this report is to provide information about tuberculosis disease. It will first look at causes, then symptoms, treatment of TB.
Causes
Tuberculosis is caused by bacteria and bacteria get released in to the air from someone who already infected with TB bacteria. The people who live with the person who has TB disease more likely in risk of getting TB, especially people with HIV positive because "the infection with HIV supresses the immune system making it difficult for their body to control TB bacteria" ( Mayo Clinic 2017). There are many risk factor for creating TB , these groups of people are more likely in risk of TB, the people in hospitals, in jails, nursing homes, group homes for HIV, patients, homeless shelter where people are infected by tuberculosis.
People with high risk including:
- Visitors and immigrants from areas known to have high incidence of TB
- Children and the elderly with weakened immune systems (especially those with a positive TB skin test, see below)
- Patients with HIV infection
- Drug abusers, especially IV drug abuse
- Head and neck cancer patients
- Transplant patients
- Diabetics
- Kidney disease patients
- People undergoing immunosuppressive therapy
- Silicosis
Symptoms
- There are many symptoms of TB , and the symptoms usually depends on which part of the body has been infected. The people with active TB in their lungs they have symptoms such as:
- bad cough longer than two weeks
- chest pain
- cough up blood
Other symptoms of TB disease may include
- Fever
- Night sweats
- Cough (often chronic)
- Decrease or loss of appetite
- Weight loss and/or muscle loss
- Fatigue
- Shortness of breath
Treatment
The treatment for TB depends on the type of TB infection and drug sensitivity of the mycobacteria. For latent TB, three anti-TB drugs are used in four different recommended schedules. The drugs are isoniazid (INH), rifampin (RIF; Rifadin), and rifapentine (RPT; Priftin) and the CDC's four recommended schedules are below and are chosen by the treating doctor based on the patients overall health and type of TB the patient was likely exposed to.
| Drugs | Duration | Interval | Minimum Doses | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||
| Isoniazid | 9 months | Daily Twice weekly | 270 76 | |||||||||||||
| Isoniazid | 6 months | Daily Twice weekly | 180 52 | |||||||||||||
| Isoniazid and Rifapentine | 3 months | Once weekly | 12 | |||||||||||||
| Rifampin | 4 months | Daily | 120 | |||||||||||||
