Education, Enviroment, Health

Facts About Tuberculosis (TB)

Reachout Centre Trust had a joint supervision with staffs from the department of health in Mombasa County which included the County Coordinator of Tuberculosis Mr Cosmas Mwamburi. The joint supervision was to sensitize and equip staffs at Reachout Centre Trust with relevant information concerning Tuberculosis (TB), not excluding the clinical department which serve most of our beneficiaries who are under TB treatment.

[Reachout Centre Trust staffs with Mombasa County TB Coordinator Mr Cosmas Mwamburi . Photo/Tedd Kalama /August, 25, 2022].

Tuberculosis (TB) represents a serious global health problem and the second leading cause of death due to infectious disease worldwide hence continuous sensitization of staffs will help to improve public education about TB symptoms, diagnosis, testing, and treatment and also provide knowledge regarding the right and responsibilities of beneficiaries with tuberculosis (TB).

What is Tuberculosis (TB)

Tuberculosis (TB) is a potentially serious infectious disease that mainly affects the lungs. The bacteria that cause tuberculosis are spread from person to person through tiny droplets released into the air via coughs and sneezes.

Once rare in developed countries, tuberculosis infections began increasing in 1985, partly because of the emergence of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. HIV weakens a person’s immune system, so it can’t fight the TB germs. In the United States, because of stronger control programs, tuberculosis began to decrease again in 1993. But it remains a concern.

Many tuberculosis strains resist the drugs most used to treat the disease. People with active tuberculosis must take many types of medications for months to get rid of the infection and prevent antibiotic resistance

Symptoms

Although your body can harbor the bacteria that cause tuberculosis, your immune system usually can prevent you from becoming sick. For this reason, doctors make a distinction between:

  • Latent TB. You have a TB infection, but the bacteria in your body are inactive and cause no symptoms. Latent TB, also called inactive TB or TB infection, isn’t contagious. Latent TB can turn into active TB, so treatment is important.
  • Active TB. Also called TB disease, this condition makes you sick and, in most cases, can spread to others. It can occur weeks or years after infection with the TB bacteria.

Signs and symptoms of active TB include:

  • Coughing for three or more weeks
  • Coughing up blood or mucus
  • Chest pain, or pain with breathing or coughing
  • Unintentional weight loss
  • Fatigue
  • Fever
  • Night sweats
  • Chills
  • Loss of appetite

Tuberculosis can also affect other parts of your body, including the kidneys, spine or brain. When TB occurs outside your lungs, signs and symptoms vary according to the organs involved. For example, tuberculosis of the spine might cause back pain, and tuberculosis in your kidneys might cause blood in your urine.

Causes

Tuberculosis is caused by bacteria that spread from person to person through microscopic droplets released into the air. This can happen when someone with the untreated, active form of tuberculosis coughs, speaks, sneezes, spits, laughs or sings.

Although tuberculosis is contagious, it’s not easy to catch. You’re much more likely to get tuberculosis from someone you live or work with than from a stranger. Most people with active TB who’ve had appropriate drug treatment for at least two weeks are no longer contagious.

HIV and TB

Since the 1980s, tuberculosis cases have increased dramatically because of the spread of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. HIV suppresses the immune system, making it difficult for the body to control TB bacteria. As a result, people with HIV are much more likely to get TB and to progress from latent to active disease than are people who aren’t HIV positive.

Risk factors

  • Using substances. IV drugs or excessive alcohol use weakens your immune system and makes you more vulnerable to tuberculosis.
  • Using tobacco. Tobacco uses greatly increases the risk of getting TB and dying of it.
  • Working in health care. Regular contact with people who are ill increases your chances of exposure to TB bacteria. Wearing a mask and frequent hand-washing greatly reduce your risk.
  • Living or working in a residential care facility. People who live or work in prisons, homeless shelters, psychiatric hospitals or nursing homes are all at a higher risk of tuberculosis due to overcrowding and poor ventilation.
  • Living with someone infected with TB. Close contact with someone who has TB increases your risk.

Complications

Without treatment, tuberculosis can be fatal. Untreated active disease typically affects your lungs, but it can affect other parts of your body, as well.

Tuberculosis complications include:

  • Spinal pain. Back pain and stiffness are common complications of tuberculosis.
  • Joint damage. Arthritis that results from tuberculosis (tuberculous arthritis) usually affects the hips and knees.
  • Swelling of the membranes that cover your brain (meningitis). This can cause a lasting or intermittent headache that occurs for weeks and possible mental changes.
  • Liver or kidney problems. Your liver and kidneys help filter waste and impurities from your bloodstream. Tuberculosis in these organs can impair their functions.
  • Heart disorders. Rarely, tuberculosis can infect the tissues that surround your heart, causing inflammation and fluid collections that might interfere with your heart’s ability to pump effectively. This condition, called cardiac tamponade, can be fatal.

Prevention

If you test positive for latent TB infection, your doctor might advise you to take medications to reduce your risk of developing active tuberculosis. Only active TB is contagious.

Protect your family and friends

If you have active TB, it generally takes a few weeks of treatment with TB medications before you’re not contagious anymore. Follow these tips to help keep your friends and family from getting sick:

  • Stay home. Don’t go to work or school or sleep in a room with other people during the first few weeks of treatment.
  • Ventilate the room. Tuberculosis germs spread more easily in small closed spaces where air doesn’t move. If it’s not too cold outdoors, open the windows and use a fan to blow indoor air outside.
  • Cover your mouth. Use a tissue to cover your mouth anytime you laugh, sneeze or cough. Put the dirty tissue in a bag, seal it and throw it away.
  • Wear a face mask. Wearing a face mask when you’re around other people during the first three weeks of treatment may help lessen the risk of transmission.

Finish your medication

This is the most important step you can take to protect yourself and others from tuberculosis. When you stop treatment early or skip doses, TB bacteria have a chance to develop mutations that allow them to survive the most potent TB drugs. The resulting drug-resistant strains are deadlier and more difficult to treat.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/tuberculosis/symptoms-causes/syc-20351250

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