Name: Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium bovis
First discovered: Year 1882
Signs and symptoms:
TB bacteria most commonly grow in the lungs, and can cause symptoms such as:
Tuberculosis mostly affects adults in their most productive years. However, all age groups are at risk. Over 95% of cases and deaths are in developing countries. People who are infected with HIV are 20 to 30 times more likely to develop active TB (see TB and HIV section). The risk of active TB is also greater in persons suffering from other conditions that impair the immune system.
Causes:
Pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis). TB is contagious. This means the bacteria is easily spread from an infected person to someone else. You can get TB by breathing in air droplets from a cough or sneeze of an infected person. The resulting lung infection is called primary TB.
The following people are at high risk of active TB or reactivation of TB:
TB is preventable, even in those who have been exposed to an infected person. Skin testing for TB is used in high risk populations or in people who may have been exposed to TB, such as health care workers .People who have been exposed to TB should have a skin test as soon as possible and have a follow-up test at a later date, if the first test is negative. A positive skin test means you have come into contact with the TB bacteria. It does not mean that you have active TB or are contagious. Talk to your provider about how to prevent getting tuberculosis. Prompt treatment is very important in preventing the spread of TB from those who have active TB to those who have never been infected with TB. Some countries with a high incidence of TB give people a vaccine called BCG to prevent TB. But, the effectiveness of this vaccine is limited and it is not usually used in the United States. People who have had BCG may still be skin tested for TB. Discuss the test results (if positive) with your doctor.
Treatment:
The goal of treatment is to cure the infection with medicines that fight the TB bacteria. Active pulmonary TB is treated with a combination of many medicines (usually four medicines). The person takes the medicines until lab tests show which medicines work best. When people do not take their TB medicines like they are supposed to, the infection can become much more difficult to treat. The TB bacteria can become resistant to treatment. This means the medicines no longer work. You may need to stay at home or be admitted to a hospital for 2 to 4 weeks to avoid spreading the disease to others until you are no longer contagious.
Fatality rate: 47%
First discovered: Year 1882
Signs and symptoms:
TB bacteria most commonly grow in the lungs, and can cause symptoms such as:
- A bad cough that lasts 3 weeks or longer
- Pain in the chest
- Coughing up blood or sputum (mucus from deep inside the lungs)
- Weakness or fatigue
- Weight loss
- No appetite
- Chills
- Fever
- Sweating at night
Tuberculosis mostly affects adults in their most productive years. However, all age groups are at risk. Over 95% of cases and deaths are in developing countries. People who are infected with HIV are 20 to 30 times more likely to develop active TB (see TB and HIV section). The risk of active TB is also greater in persons suffering from other conditions that impair the immune system.
Causes:
Pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis). TB is contagious. This means the bacteria is easily spread from an infected person to someone else. You can get TB by breathing in air droplets from a cough or sneeze of an infected person. The resulting lung infection is called primary TB.
The following people are at high risk of active TB or reactivation of TB:
- Elderly
- Infants
- People with weakened immune systems, for example due to HIV/AIDS, chemotherapy, diabetes, or medicines that weaken the immune system
- Are around people who have TB (during overseas travel)
- Live in crowded or unclean living conditions
- Have poor nutrition
- Increase in HIV infections
- Increase in number of homeless people (poor environment and nutrition)
- Drug-resistant strains of TB
TB is preventable, even in those who have been exposed to an infected person. Skin testing for TB is used in high risk populations or in people who may have been exposed to TB, such as health care workers .People who have been exposed to TB should have a skin test as soon as possible and have a follow-up test at a later date, if the first test is negative. A positive skin test means you have come into contact with the TB bacteria. It does not mean that you have active TB or are contagious. Talk to your provider about how to prevent getting tuberculosis. Prompt treatment is very important in preventing the spread of TB from those who have active TB to those who have never been infected with TB. Some countries with a high incidence of TB give people a vaccine called BCG to prevent TB. But, the effectiveness of this vaccine is limited and it is not usually used in the United States. People who have had BCG may still be skin tested for TB. Discuss the test results (if positive) with your doctor.
Treatment:
The goal of treatment is to cure the infection with medicines that fight the TB bacteria. Active pulmonary TB is treated with a combination of many medicines (usually four medicines). The person takes the medicines until lab tests show which medicines work best. When people do not take their TB medicines like they are supposed to, the infection can become much more difficult to treat. The TB bacteria can become resistant to treatment. This means the medicines no longer work. You may need to stay at home or be admitted to a hospital for 2 to 4 weeks to avoid spreading the disease to others until you are no longer contagious.
Fatality rate: 47%