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Tuberculosis commonly known as TB is a bacterial disease, highly contagious and it affects lungs. The World Health Organization revealed in 2016 data that, TB is one of the top 10 reasons of the mortality worldwide, i.e. killing 1.7 million people. It is mostly observed in the developing countries as compared to developed countries. Though in 2016, Centre for Disease Control and Prevention reported that, over 9,000 cases of TB are found in the US in the given year. The disease is curable and preventable. In 2017 the trusted survey report said that, 2.8 cases per 100,000 persons are reported with active TB and it is decreased by 1.6% from 2016.
It is caused by the bacteria mycobacterium tuberculosis, which mainly attacks lungs. But, TB can affect your any part of the body such as kidney, spine, and brain. It can be fatal if not treated.
Causes of Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis is a bacterial disease. It can be spread through microscopic droplets that are released into the air. When someone with Tuberculosis is untreated or active tuberculosis speaks, coughs, spits, sings, laughs, or sneezes the droplets can infect others.
If you are living or working with someone who has active tuberculosis, then you are at high risk of causing it. If a person with active Tuberculosis get a proper treatment for at least two weeks is no longer contagious.
It is been observed that, from 1980, after the spread of HIV, cases of Tuberculosis are increased. Since, due to HIV infection, your immune system gets suppress and cannot fight with the foreign bacteria. So, due to growth of the TB bacteria, you may cause active Tuberculosis.
Sometimes when you are treating with the anti-biotic to kill or restrict the growth of the TB bacteria, the medicine is not able to destroy it completely and survived bacteria become resistant to that particular drug.
A poor health or poor diet may lead to Tuberculosis. Misuse of drugs, excessive consumption of alcohol, homelessness, or unhealthy lifestyle also can lead to Tuberculosis. Conditions like malnutrition can also lead to Tuberculosis.
Diagnosis of Tuberculosis
To diagnose Tuberculosis you need to perform some medical tests as following:
- Physical Examination: The doctor will check your lymph nodes, lungs for sound while breathing
- Skin test: Now blood tests are more common than skin test, but the doctor prefer this test sometimes. In this test you are given with an injection of PPD tuberculin just below the skin. The size of the bump after 48 to 72 hours will determine the result
- TB Blood Test: This test use to determine how your immune system reacts to the bacteria that can cause TB
- X-Ray: To check that if you have clinically active TB disease
Symptoms of Tuberculosis
When your immune system get loosen and cannot fight with foreign bacteria in your body it can cause you infections like, Tuberculosis. You can experience some common symptoms with TB such as, coughing that lasts three or more weeks, chest pain, or pain with breathing or coughing, coughing up blood, fatigue, unintentional weight loss, fever, night sweats, chills, and loss of appetite. Due to this condition your other body parts like, kidneys, spine or brain, or lungs.
There are two main categories of Tuberculosis as mentioned below:
- Latent TB: In latent TB, the bacteria in your body remain inactive and shows no symptoms, even when you have TB infection. It is not contagious. If not treated, it can turn into active TB
- Active TB: It is a contagious TB, which makes you sick. When you have active TB, after infection it can occur in few weeks or may be years later
Treatment for Tuberculosis
Many bacterial infections can be treated with antibiotics. Tuberculosis also can be treated by antibiotic that restricts the growth of bacteria in the body. One of the top medicines is medicine mentioned below:
Ethambutol is an antibiotic that treats tuberculosis. It restricts the growth of bacteria and treats only bacterial infections. It does not work for viral infections like cold or flu. A top brand like Myambutol uses Ethambutol as an active ingredient in their products. The medicine is available in different dosages i.e. Ethambutol 200 mg, Ethambutol 400 mg, Ethambutol 600 mg, and Ethambutol 800 mg. The medicine is composed as round conventional tablet and packed as 10 tablets per blister. You need to consult the doctor in case you experience symptoms of liver disease such as persistent nausea/vomiting, unusual tiredness/weakness, severe stomach/abdominal pain, yellowing eyes/skin, dark urine. It is advisable that do not have any immunizations/vaccinations while treating with this medicine. One of the best pharmaceutical companies like, Lupin Pharmacutical Ltd. manufactures this drug.