Tuberculosis

By Indra Gowan, 10 Orange

What is the disease?O Tuberculosis is an

infectious disease. It is caused by bacteria called Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

O It was isolated by Robert Koch in 1882, and he later went on to win a Nobel Prize for the discovery.

What is the cause of the disease?

O The main cause of TB is a bacteria called Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

O Its cells actually divide far slower than normal bacteria (every 16 to 20 hours as opposed to hourly) but it is still a highly infectious disease.

O The actual tuberculosis infection occurs when the mycobacterium reach the alveoli of the lungs, causing a lung disease.

What type of disease is it?

O There are two types of tuberculosis, Tb infection and Tb disease.

O TB infection is when a person is infected with Tb germs but the germs stay dormant. This type of Tb is not contagious and doesn't have an effect on the persons daily life.

O TB disease is when a person already harbouring Tb germs becomes ill from them because of a weakened immune system. This makes it an opportunistic pathogen.

... continuedO It is a bacterial infection which starts

in the lungs but can spread to other parts of the body creating extra-pulmonary tuberculosis.

O In extreme cases, TB can spread to the bones or Central Nervous System producing more serious defects of the body.

O It only becomes active when the body is weakened.

Who commonly suffers from the disease?

O People who have spent a long period of time with another person suffering from TB.

O People who have cancer, including some leukaemia.

O People that take medication that affects the immune system.

O People with HIV/AIDSO People with another chronic

illness that has an effect on the immune system.

O It is most common in third world countries where sanitation is poor and rates of infection are high.

What are the signs and symptoms of the disease?

O Common symptoms include fever, chills, night sweats, loss of appetite, weight loss and fatigue.

O Finger clubbing can also occur ^^^

What is the treatment of the disease?

O In most cases, after about two weeks on medication, Tb disease can be rendered non-contagious and the person can continue with their day to day life.

O It can be prevented by covering the nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing.

O People with infectious Tb of the lungs are isolated until their infection is deemed non-contagious.

Can it be cured?O If people with Tb complete their 6 month

course of antibiotics then they can be completely cured.

O If they don't however, they can become seriously ill and even die, which is the case in most developing countries where TB is a major killer. This is because there aren’t enough resources to put every sick person on six month medication, and people are sick already and therefore prone to catching the disease.

Impacts on societyO Tuberculosis is a relatively uncommon disease in

first world nations such as Australia. In a developed country if there is Tb infection it can be treated relatively easily and prevented as well.

O For this reason, there aren’t any major economical or lifestyle implications of Tb in developed countries.

O In developing countries however, Tb is a major killer especially when infection sets in because of HIV/AIDS. This fact has a huge impact on the wealth and economy of these countries, because there is a huge amount of illness which means less people can work to make money and fight the illness. It is a cycle which will continue without help from outside organisations.

The decrease of Tb cases

O Cases of Tb have decreased over the past 20 years, mainly due to increased education around the issue.

O There are also charities and health organisations working in third world countries to eliminate the spread of Tb outbreaks.

O One of the Millennium Development Goals was Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria & Other Diseases, those diseases including Tb. Actions have been taken by the WHO and other organisations to make this happen by 2015.

Prevalence of TbO Tuberculosis is most common in

developing countries, namely countries in Africa like Swaziland and Zambia. Cambodia also has the second highest rates of Tb infection per 100,000.

O In these countries, the emphasis is on education. The focus has been shifted from cure to prevention, and simple things like covering the mouth when sneezing are being taught.

Additional info?O Tb is spread like most

colds – through coughing and sneezing.

O It can’t be spread through household items, so to prevent infection it is not necessary to use separate items.

O People with TB that isn't in their lungs are not infectious.

O It is diagnosed by chest x-ray and tests on coughed-up mucus.

BibliographyO Wikipedia – TB, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuberculosis

, 24/5/12O Better Health Channel,

http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Tuberculosis_(TB), 24/5/12

O MedicineNet.com, http://www.medicinenet.com/tuberculosis/article.htm, 24/5/12

O NSW health, http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/factsheets/infectious/tuberculosis.html, 26/5/12

O NationMaster, http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/hea_tub_cas_per_100-tuberculosis-cases-per-100-000, 27/5/12