Stop Tuberculosis (TB) Today And Forever

Many of us still live with the notion that TB isn’t a threat anymore. However the fact is more than 2 billion people are infected with this killer disease. Mycobacterium tuberculosis, a slow growing bacterium is the causative organism of tuberculosis. TB affects mainly lungs nevertheless it affects lymph nodes, gastrointestinal tracts, heart, kidney, bones and joints.

TB is becoming a serious health problem due to numerous reasons such as rise in HIV infection, no. of people immigrating from areas where TB is prevalent, poor health and poor nutrition, people not complying with the complete medication schedule leading to resistant organisms.

Transmission of tuberculosis

Tuberculosis spreads through droplets released in the air when a person coughs, sneezes, spits, talks and sings and the germs are breathed in by susceptible persons or person who has weak immune system.

Symptoms of Tuberculosis:

The symptoms of Tuberculosis are

• Persistent cough for more than 2-3  weeks(often bleeding)
• Weight loss
• Fever
• Night sweats

If the condition has aggravated then often leads to collection of fluid, pleural effusion making the person breathless.

Diagnosis:

• TB can be diagnosed
• By chest X-ray
• Skin test
• Sputum sample

Treatment:

TB is curable and for treatment, combination of antibiotics or multiple drug therapy works better than single antibiotics.The medications commonly used for treatment of tuberculosis include-Isoniazid, Rifampin and pyrazinamide.

WHO has launched DOTS (Direct Observation Treatment, short course) a tuberculosis controlling strategy. It is a short period treatment that cures TB but sticking to the treatment schedule is of importance.

Prevention:

TB vaccine or BCG (Bacillus Calmette Guerin) is used to prevent TB in many countries. But a healthy diet, exercise, taking proper health supplement and maintaining a balanced lifestyle gives boost to the immune system and helps preventing it.