Tuberculosis
By:Victoria Ramirez
What is It?
Tuberculosis is a disease caused by a bacterium.(mycobacterium) The disease is extremely dangerous and has taken various lives.
What Causes It?
A bacterium called mycobacterium tuberculosis causes the disease tuberculosis. Thus mycobacterium can be found in any area. It is released into the air when a person that is diagnosed with is, sneezes, coughs, or basically anything that involves releasing any form of air out of their body. It is very dangerous, few have survived, many have died.
How Does it Affect a Person?
Tuberculosis, once inhaled, first infects the person's lungs, and causes the person to easily transfer it to another person simply by respiratory droplets. With this disease comes various outcomes. You must fight for your life, seeing your doctor all the time for help. You would have to quit your job because you cannot come in contact with anyone else. Bills will be piling up and you have no money for you or your family (if any). If you have a family, that would be a problem too, you wouldn't want them to get in contact with the disease either. This disease can affect a person is an extremely large way.
What are the Symptoms of Tuberculosis?
If one is worried that they have stumbled upon the disease, then a blood test can be taken to make sure. There is also another way to find out. If the person contains the following symptoms, it is a sure sign of tuberculosis. Coughing blood, unexplained weight loss, or fever. Some patients don't even have any active symptoms that are visible when infected with tuberculosis.
Where Did It Come From?
Mycobacterium tuberculosis existed since the ancient times, the bacteria causing it was found in various areas of Egypt, India and China. No one knew how it was created until Robert Koch discovered it. (1882) Back then, they had to enclose the patient with tuberculosis because there was no way of stopping it from taking more and more lives. That is when medications to treat tuberculosis were created.
What are the Treatments for Tuberculosis?
Multiple antibiotics can be taken to cure tuberculosis. Back then, tuberculosis was cured using the method of surgery. Few use that method now, ever since antibiotics came into the world, various with the money to buy the antibiotics, use that method. Ex: Rifampin, or Pyrazinamide.