Introduction to Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis is a ailment that is as a result of the microorganism Mycobacterium tuberculosis that is a bacterial pathogen. Its onset regularly follows an attack by means of the bacterium on the body as the bacterium regularly targets thee lungs. The disorder as one described to the leading purpose of death in the US. However, someday in the 1940, drugs have been discovered and had been used to manage the condition. The instances that were suggested arum 1984 indicated that the disease used to be rising again and for the reason that 1992, there have been more than 25,000 instances reported. The spread takes place when one person who is infected spreads the droplet from their lungs and throats to the environment and are inhaled by a non-diseases state (Schluger 2005, p. 1). Those around the infected party will inhale the bacteria and become infected and they also become potential agent for the microorganism and could continue the chain. In the process. Sometimes, those with TB could end up not displaying any symptoms and tend not to become sick but the condition could show up at some future date. Those affected by the bacterium can get treatment and receive cure provided urgent medical intervention is sort. Other drugs have since been discovered that are in preventing the infection from the bacterium (WHO 2013, p. 1).

History

The description of the way the background cases TB in human population has been of interest since thee antiquity who were fragment that were obtained from the spinal column from the mummies of Egypt; At around 460 BCE, it was identified that the most widespread disease at the time was due to phthisis, which was a based on Greek Literature interpretation. The major breakthrough, however, occurred in 1865 when Jean-Antoine Villemin showed that it was possible to pass microorganisms from one medium to another and in the process by which science was perceived. The other milestone was in 18882 when Robert Koch invested a testing process that would make it possible to see the bacteria that caused TB. It means that it was now possible to initiate the fight against the most dreaded pathogen that ever existed and that was proving to be a menace (Daniel 2006, 1865).

Epidemiology

Starting from 1953 to 1984, the reports of TB have decreased in the US and the reports have been decreasing at the rate of 6 percent. However, starting 1985 the incidence of the disease was estimated to be at 26,673 in 1992. Four sources have since been used to trace the development of the diseases including “HIV epidemic, immigration from countries where TB is common, the spread of TB in certain settings, and inadequate funding for TB control and other public health efforts” (D’Ambrosio et al. 2012, p. 16). The rate of infection is estimated to be at 70 percent among the racial and ethnic minorities. It is as a result of the existence of other groups that are predisposed to the risk factors of TB. The number of cases among children is a huge issue because it is an important part of the transmission of the disease in the domestic setting. When a child presents with manifestation that denote TB, then it is inferred that the infection took place in a short period. It thus follows that both adults and other children are at a risk of infection and when they do, they increase the chances that the diseases will manifest in future (Getahun et al. 2010, p. 201).

Transmission

The spread of the bacterium is form one person to another through the air. The organism that is ingested, MTB, is at this point referred to as tubercle bacilli is that upon sneezing, the infected individual releases air that has tubercle bacilli being expelled to the air. The infection thus begins when the bacilli reproduce in the respiratory tract of the newly infected subject (Philips & Ernst 2012, p. 357). It thus enters the bloodstream and is spread to the rest of the bod via blood. The immune system of the body culd at this point keep the bacilli and will manifest at a later date. Such individuals often have the bacteria and develop what is referred to as latent TB infection (Golden & Vikram 2005, p. 1761). The disease can also occur in the lung where it is perceived to be pulmonary TB or it culd occur in other parts of the body that do not involve the lungs and it develops to multiple sites (Philips & Ernst 2012, p. 353).

Prevention

Infection infection control process is a crucial aspect in the management of the condition. It is basically founded on the principle of reducing infection processes and enabling the community to manage the existing cases. One primary technique involves urgent reporting of new cases of Tb to the nearest health facility. The other technique entails making contact investigations to trace those who could have been infected unawares by the reported case. Finally, TB is prevented through creating a follow-up on the patients who are on treatment to prevent recurrent TB infection (Sissolak et al. 2011, p. 4).

References

D’Ambrosio, L., Spanevello, A. & Centis, R., 2012. Epidemiology of TB. European Respiratory Monograph, 58, pp.14–24.

Daniel, T.M., 2006. The history of tuberculosis. Respiratory Medicine, 100(11), pp.1862–1870.

Getahun, H. et al., 2010. HIV infection-associated tuberculosis: the epidemiology and the response. Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, 50 Suppl 3, pp.S201–S207.

Golden, M.P. & Vikram, H.R., 2005. Extrapulmonary tuberculosis: An overview. American Family Physician, 72(9), pp.1761–1768.

Philips, J.A. & Ernst, J.D., 2012. Tuberculosis Pathogenesis and Immunity. Annual Review of Pathology: Mechanisms of Disease, 7(1), pp.353–384. Available at: http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev-pathol-011811-132458.

Schluger, N.W., 2005. The pathogenesis of tuberculosis: The first one hundred (and twenty-three) years. American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology, 32(4), pp.251–256.

Sissolak, D., Marais, F. & Mehtar, S., 2011. TB infection prevention and control experiences of South African nurses--a phenomenological study. BMC public health, 11, pp.1–10.

WHO, 2013. Global Tuberculosis Report 2013. World Health Organization, p.306. Available at: http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/91355/1/9789241564656_eng.pdf.