TB

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in which case it is known as latent tuberculosis. About 10% of latent infections progress to active disease which, if left untreated, kills about half of those affected.

Symptoms

The classic symptoms of active TB are a chronic cough with blood-containing sputum, fever, night sweats, and weight loss. Infection of other organs can cause a wide range of symptoms.

Transmission

Tuberculosis is spread from one person to the next through the air when people who have active TB in their lungs cough, spit, speak, or sneeze. People with latent TB do not spread the disease.

Diagnosis

Diagnosis of active TB is based on chest X-rays, as well as microscopic examination and culture of body fluids. Diagnosis of latent TB relies on the tuberculin skin test (TST) or blood tests.

Prevention

Prevention of TB involves screening those at high risk, early detection and treatment of cases, and vaccination with the bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine.

Treatment

Treatment requires the use of multiple antibiotics over a long period of time. Antibiotic resistance is a growing problem with increasing rates of multiple drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB).

Epidemiology

As of 2018, an estimated 25% of the world's population had latent TB. New cases occurred in 30% of the population in 2017. In 2018, 1.5 million people died from the disease, with most of these deaths occurring in low and middle-income countries.

History

The existence of TB has been known since antiquity. The bacterium that causes TB was discovered in 1882 by Robert Koch.

Society and culture

Tuberculosis has been present in humans since ancient times and continues to be a significant public health issue, affecting millions of people each year, especially in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia.

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