Bacterial
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
A potentially serious infectious bacterial disease that mainly affects the lungs.
Characteristics
- The bacteria that cause tuberculosis are spread when an infected person coughs or sneezes. (Contagious)
- Tuberculosis is an acid-fast bacteria
- A large rod-shaped bacterium.
- Tuberculosis can infect many parts of the body including the skin, joints, bones, lymph nodes, kidney, spine and nervous system
- Bacteria require oxygen in order to grow, they most often infect the upper portion of the lungs.
Symptoms
People may experience:
Pain: in the chest, can occur while breathing
Cough: can be chronic, with blood
Whole body: malaise, sweating, fever, loss of appetite, night sweats, fatigue, or chills
Also common: loss of muscle, swollen lymph nodes, phlegm, shortness of breath, or unintentional weight loss
- A persistent cough.
- Constant fatigue.
- Weight loss.
- Loss of appetite.
- Fever.
- Coughing up blood.
- Night sweats.
Treatment
If you have active tuberculosis disease, your doctor will give you several antibiotics to treat the infection and to help prevent resistant bacteria from emerging in your body.
Antibiotics: Pyrazinamide, Ethambutol (Myambutol), Rifabutin, Rifapentine (Priftin), Ethionamide (Trecator), Rifampin, Isoniazid
History
- Consumption, phthisis, scrofula, Pott's disease, and the White Plague are all terms used to refer to tuberculosis
- Nearly one-third of the world's population is infected with the bacteria that cause tuberculosis
- The CDC reports that tuberculosis is responsible for approximately 2 million deaths worldwide every year
- One of the world's most deadly diseases.
- Very common (most countries in Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, and Asia and Eastern Europe and Russia).
Bibliography
Works Cited
"Characteristics of Tuberculosis." LIVESTRONG.COM. LIVESTRONG.COM, 23 Mar. 2010. Web. 14 Mar. 2015. <http://www.livestrong.com/article/83796-characteristics-tuberculosis/>.
"What Is Tuberculosis? Picture, Diagnosis, Causes." WebMD. WebMD. Web. 10 Mar. 2015. <http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/understanding-tuberculosis-basics>.