Tuberculosis | Definition, Symptoms, Treatment, Prevention of Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis is a chronic infectious and contagious disease that affects the lungs , which is caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis or Koch bacillus. This disease is transmitted from person to person through coughing and sneezing by the sick person, thus expelling the aerosols contaminated by tubercle bacilli in the air, which can be inhaled by another person being infected with this disease.

What is Tuberculosis?

The pulmonary tuberculosis is the most common and contagious tuberculosis rates, this represents 80% of all cases. There are cases in which tuberculosis occurs in other organs of the body, this is called extrapulmonary tuberculosis. Pulmonary tuberculosis presents with respiratory signs such as cough, chest pain, night sweats, weight loss and fever.

Although the lung location is the most common, the bacteria can develop in many other parts of the body . This is what is known as localized tuberculosis, since it affects only one organ, among which skin, stomach, kidney, intestines and brain can also be named. In the case of the brain, being affected by the bacteria, it can cause tuberculous meningitis, which is very dangerous and difficult to treat. 

Tuberculosis can spread through the blood damaging many organs at the same time. This manifestation of the disease is called miliaryor disseminated tuberculosis , it is very serious and it arises in those people whose immune system is very weak due to other diseases.

Symptoms of Tuberculosis

The symptoms of tuberculosis are intact, however, and can be tolerated by those who suffer from these symptoms before seeking medical help . Humans suffering from ICH, diabetes and smokers are characterized by a damaged immune system. In the same way, those who reside or work in places where there is agglomeration, such as in prisons, precarious housing, factories with small capacity, among others. It is manifested by:

Present a permanent cough, for many days.

Lack of appetite, decay and lack of strength.

A lot of fever and night sweats.

Forms of contagion of tuberculosis

Tuberculosis can spread from person to person through the air . When sneezing, coughing or expelling saliva, thus throwing the tubercular bacilli in the air, is when a person is suffering from this disease. The other person inhaling the bacilli will be infected. Approximately, a quarter of the inhabitants in the world possess the implicit disease, this indicates that these people are infected by the bacillus but have not yet become ill. 

In children there is a greater risk of contracting TB infection than in adults, because they still have a very immature defense system in their bodies to fight the germs that cause the disease.

Treatment of tuberculosis

Tuberculosis is a condition that harms the lungs . This is characterized as an infection which is contagious, and in certain cases it can spread to other organs. There is an appropriate treatment to manage the disease and this procedure consists of mixing oral antibiotics for a period of six months that, doing it correctly and adequately, cure the disease in 100% and the patient can save his life. 

In latent tuberculosis, which is the one in which it is infected but has not become ill, it is indicated to give only a provisional treatmentand only 10% of these patients, then they will develop the disease. That is, an individual can have the inoculation but not the symptoms or the active disease, it means that the bacteria remains dormant (latent tuberculosis) in a small region of the lungs which can remain there for years. 

With latent tuberculosis the person can not spread the disease, but there are cases in which in some people, the bacterium can become active, being able to transmit the infection to other individuals. That is why the medication for this type of tuberculosis is indicated to guarantee the destruction of the bacteria and thus not develop it in the future. 

The germs of tuberculosis die slowly. And for this, it is necessary to take several tablets at different times of the day, for approximately 6 months, doing it in the way indicated by the provider, that is, taking it every day. Failure to take the medication in the right way, or stop doing it before, can make the infection worse. Transcending to be more complicated to treat or simply that expressed drugs give up their effect. For this, it is necessary to take other drugs which may have more side effects and less capacity to cure tuberculosis . 

Most patients do not have very serious side effectsas a result of the medicines for tuberculosis. But you should take care and expose the doctor or specialist about contusions or tendency to bleeding, joint pain, fever, pain in the fingers and toes, tingling around the mouth, poor appetite, nausea, upset stomach, colics, skin or yellow eyes.

Prevention of tuberculosis

The BCG or Bacillus Calmette-Guerin vaccine helps prevent tuberculosis and in some countries this vaccine is mandatory. All newborns should receive it. It is administered both in infants and young children and in those who have defined criteria. In other cases, BCG or tuberculosis vaccine should be considered for those children who have a negative test result and are permanently exposed and can not be separated from adults who have not been treated with the disease. infection or have not been successful in the treatment.
Another way to avoid contagion of tuberculosis, and especially people who live with diagnosed patients, is to keep the airy environment with air outlet and where in sunlight, always wearing a mask and washing hands constantly and adequately.

Bovine tuberculosis

Bovine tuberculosis is a chronic disease of animals , which is caused by Mybacterium bovis, a bacterium that is related to the bacteria that cause human tuberculosis. This disease can affect all mammals, causing them cough and causing the deterioration of the general state of health. The name Tuberculosis originates from the nodules, called "tubers" which are formed in the lymph nodes of the infected animal. 

When they began to establish control measures in developed countries, this was one of the main diseases of domestic animals worldwide. And today continues to be a major disease of cattle. It is contagious and transmitted by contact with animalsDomestic animals or wild animals infected by the ingestion of raw milk from sick cows, or with the inhalation of droplets that expel animals when coughing. This disease is of slow development and it can take many months or years until the animal dies. 

In developed countries this disease has been eradicated . While in other countries where the disease has been reduced, tuberculosis is caused by atypical mycobacteria. It is presumed that there is between 3% to 4% of bovine tuberculosis infection. In nature, mycobacteria are widely distributed, incorporating pathogens, saprophytes and opportunists. The tubercle bacilli are: Tuberculosis (Male), Bovis (Bovines), Avium (Birds).

In approximately 80% of the elements that make up the tuberculosis infection, it happens via arogenic; due to the cough or expiration of an infected animal, a number of sprays that retain the infection are discharged, of which when breathed by another bovine, they achieve the start of a new infection in the respiratory system. 
Another way to get infected is the digestive, by the intake of food and grass contaminated with nasal secretions, fecal matter and urine that includes the causative agent. 

The stomach route is important in calves that are maintained with raw milk from sick cows, because 1% to 2% of infected cows suppress the microorganism in the milk. Other rare but probable ways are: the hereditary, genital and cutaneous route.

In bovine the manifestation of the symptoms of the disease are scarce , in some cases it can be exposed. The means of admission of M. bovis and the location of the lesion are linked. The wounds are located in different lymph nodes and organs, in the form of yellow tubers and where the quantity and size vary, containing a purulent-caseous material. The analysis of the condition is carried out by the macro and microscopic determination of the damages in the animals killed in the farm, or those that are remitted to the slaughterhouse, accompanied by the separation and typing in the laboratory.

The analysis is carried out before the death of the animal by the dermorreacción in the frequent places where they are usually carried out, also must be done supervision in the slaughterhouses and make the macro and microscopic evaluation of the injuries coincident with the tuberculosis.