What is Tuberculosis?
Tuberculosis is caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium Tuberculosis. It can affect any part of the body but usually infects the lungs. Tuberculosis is spread through airborne droplets expelled when an infected individual sneezes, talks, or coughs. However, prolonged exposure to the infected individual must occur before an infection is likely to develop.The body may harbour the bacteria while the immune system prevents sickness. As a result, there are two forms of TuberculosisB: latent tuberculosis and active tuberculosis.
With latent Tuberculosis, the immune system is able to prevent the bacteria from growing. The Tuberculosis bacteria remain alive within the body but are dormant. However, the bacteria can become active later in life. For instance, if a person’simmune system is compromised or disabled, a Tuberculosis infection can become activated. Those people with latent Tuberculosis have no symptoms, do not feel sick, are not contagious, and may develop Tuberculosis later in life if they do not receive treatment.
The World
A Link?
Active Tuberculosis simply means that the Tuberculosis bacteria are growing within the body causing an active infection. Signs and symptoms of active Tuberculosis include fatigue, slight fever, chills, night sweats, loss of appetite, unintended weight loss, a cough that lasts three or more weeks producing discoloured or bloody sputum, and pain with coughing or breathing. Active Tuberculosis is highly contagious.
Clearly, because the Tuberculosis bacillus becomes airborne when it is
expelled from an infected person, poorly ventilated and crowded living
conditions accelerate the spread Tuberculosis. Also, commonly, individuals
that live in poverty without access to healthcare advice or resources
are most likely not to finish their tuberculosis treatment. This can contribute
to the emergence of drug resistant forms of Tuberculosis.
Drug resistant strains of Tuberculosis are a serious problem. Tuberculosis
bacteria have mutated to develop strains of the bacteria that are resistant
to each of the major Tuberculosis medications. There are also strains
of Tuberculosis that are resistant to at least two Tuberculosis medications.
Known as multi-drug resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-Tuberculosis), this is
posing an ever more deadly threat. Individuals affected with MDR-Tuberculosis
are much more difficult to treat requiring long term therapy of up to
two years.
Combination therapies offer the most effective treatment of Tuberculosis. Also these multiple-drug regimes provide some protection from the risk of drug resistance. The "essential top four" medicines used in various combinations for the treatment of Tuberculosis are Isoniazid*, Rifampicin*, Pyrazinamide* and Ethambutol*.
* Key suppliers of Tuberculosis treatment products include:
- Isoniazid - Glaxo
- Rifampicin - Sanofi-Aventis
- Pyrazinamide - Genus Pharmaceuticals (From Q3 2008)
- Ethambutol - Genus Pharmaceuticals
Summary
Left untreated, each person with active Tuberculosis disease will infect on average between 10 and 15 people every year.
- Someone in the world is newly infected with Tuberculosis bacilli every second.
- Overall, one-third of the world's population is currently infected with the Tuberculosis bacillus.
- Each year, an estimated 8 million to 10 million people contract the disease and 2 to 3 million people die from it.
- The disease kills more young people and adults than any other infectious disease and is the world's biggest killer of women.