Tuberculosis, also known as TB, is an infectious disease affecting the lungs. The disease is spread through droplets released into the air by the cough of an infected person. According to the Mayo Clinic, almost 2 million people are infected with the disease each year, mainly in the countries of Asia and Africa.
Causes
Tuberculosis is spread by an infected person sneezing, coughing, laughing or speaking, and releasing contaminated droplets into the air where another person may inhale them. Certain risk factors will increase your chances of being infected and include HIV infection, homelessness, alcoholism, being a health-care worker and living in crowded environments.
Symptoms
You may contract TB and develop no symptoms and the bacteria remain inactive. This is called latent TB or inactive TB and is not contagious. Active TB is contagious and will include symptoms of weight and appetite loss, fatigue, fever, chills and night sweats. Other symptoms may include coughing up blood, cough that lasts three weeks or more, and chest pain. Tuberculosis can affect other organs besides your lung, such as kidneys and spine. TB will cause bloody urine if affecting the kidneys and back pain when affecting the spine.
Diagnosis
A Mantoux skin test involves the injection of a substance called PPD into your skin. When a hard, raised bump appears within 48 to 72 hours, you may have TB. This test can have false negative or false positive results, so additional testing is necessary. A chest X-ray or CT scan may show white spots, cavity or nodules in your lungs caused by TB. When these signs appear, your doctor will order a sputum test. Your cough droplets are collected and tested for the tuberculosis bacteria.
Inactive TB Treatment
Treatment depends upon your overall health and whether you have active or inactive TB. Inactive TB treatment will involve daily or twice-a-week medication of Isoniazid. This treatment will last nine months and your doctor will also monitor your liver function as this medication can have side effects causing liver disease. Avoid alcohol or acetaminophen use during treatment.
Active TB Treatment
Active TB treatment will involve taking four medications at first--Rifadin, Myambutol, Isoniazid and Pyrazinamide--over a nine-month period. One or two of the drugs may be discontinued if they prove to be ineffective. Treatment may begin in the hospital until tests determine you are not contagious.
Drug-Resistant TB Treatment
Drug-resistant TB will require at least four first-line medications taken over a course of 18 months to two years or longer. Surgery may be required to remove infection not killed by medications and to repair lung damage.
Successful Treatment
You may feel better after a few weeks of treatment and may be tempted to stop. It is important to complete your full course of treatment, as stopping can cause still-living TB bacteria to become resistant to medications and harder to kill. This could lead to life-threatening conditions especially in young children, pregnant women and people with compromised immune systems.
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