Tuberculosis (TB) is a Mycobacterium Tuberculosis bacterial infection that affects the lungs. It can be dangerous in various different ways, and some types of tuberculosis are expensive and risky to treat. Tuberculosis is the most deadly bacteria in the world, claiming over 4000 lives a day, and just in 2017 alone, 1.6 million people died from it. The Tuberculosis bacteria destroys lung tissues, causing lung damage and making them cough and spread the bacteria. TB is an opportunistic infection as well. It often targets people with HIV more because their immune systems are weakened by it.
What are opportunistic infections (OI)?
Opportunistic infections are infections that take the opportunity to attack people who have HIV. OIs can be very dangerous for people who have HIV because their immune systems are weakened and isn't able to fight another disease. Hepatitis B and C are examples of OIs.
How do you catch it?
TB bacteria is caught when you breathe it in. So if someone with TB coughs, sneezes or speaks into your face or close to you , you may contract it.
Types:
- Active TB
- Non-drug resistant TB: Can be treated with antibiotics
- Mono resistant TB: Only resistant to one front line drug
- Poly resistant TB: Resistant to 2 or more front line drug but not to isoniazid or rifampicin
- Rifampicin resistant TB: Resistant to rifampicin and/or other drugs
- Multi resistant TB (MDR TB): Resistant to both isoniazid and rifampicin
- Extensive resistant TB (XDR TB): Resistant to more than only the first-line drugs (including isoniazid and rifampicin)
- Miliary TB: Affects all organs because the bacteria flowed into the bloodstreams, causing a fatal situation
- Latent TB: No symptoms, only diagnosed by tuberculin test, but can turn into active
What is Rifampicin and Isoniazid?
They're a strong pair of drugs against TB, usually used together, however more strains of TB bacterias have grown immunity to either one or both of them. (MDR/RR TB)
Symptoms:
- cough that lasted longer than 3 weeks
- chest pain
- coughing up blood/sputum
- weakness
- fatigue
- weight loss
- loss of appetite
- chills
- fever
- night sweating
Risks:
- HIV patients
- TB patients before
- Babies
- Young children
- Drug addicts
- Sick people
- Elderly
Diagnosis needed:
- Tuberculin skin test (TST)
- TB Blood Test
- Lab Test to detect for resistance patterns
Treatment:
- Non-drug resistant TB: common antibiotics/rifampicin and isoniazid
- Mono: use the non-resistant drug
- Poly: use the non-resistant drug
- MDR: Pyrazinamide/ Fluoroquinolone/ Ethionamide/ Prothionamide/Cycloserine/ PAS(para-aminosalicylic acid)
- XDR: Depends, read this website to understand more: XDR
Preventions:
TB is most common in developing countries which are crowded, where TB can be easily transmitted. If you want to stay safe from TB, wash your hands often, cover your mouth and nose while you cough and sneeze and take your medications if you need to.
