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Tuberculosis (TB)
By Tiffany Rivera
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Tuberculosis is an infectious disease
that is most often found in the lungs.
It is caused by a bacteria called
Mycobacterium tuberculosis. This
bacteria is slow growing and thrives
in areas of the body that are rich in
blood and oxygen.
It is easily spread to others through
coughing, sneezing, or even laughing.
If a person has LATENT TB, they have
the TB causing bacteria in their body,
but they cannot spread the disease to
others. However, they can still develop
active TB.
If a person has ACTIVE TB, the
infection is spreading throughout their
body and if their lungs are infected
they can spread the disease to others.
TB most often attacks the lungs (as pulmonary TB) but can also affect the
central nervous system, the lymphatic system, the circulatory system, the
genitourinary system, bones, joints and even the skin.
 Symptoms of TB include chest pain, coughing up blood, a prolonged
cough for more than three weeks, fever, chills, night sweats, appetite loss,
weight loss, paleness, and fatigue.
 TB is most common in Africa and Asia.
 TB was found in humans
as early as the ancient
Egyptians in 2400 BCE.
 It was one of the main
causes of death in the
1920’s, but then seemed
to diminish.
 It made a comeback in
recent years, affecting
HIV patients and killing
them due to their
weakened immune systems.
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Treatment for TB uses antibiotics to kill the bacteria. The two
antibiotics most commonly used are rifampicin and isoniazid.
It takes 6 to 9 months to entirely eliminate the mycobacteria from
the body.
The tuberculosis skin test (also known as the PPD test) is a test
used to determine if someone has developed an immune response
to the bacterium that causes TB. This response can occur if
someone currently has TB or if they were exposed to it in the past.
Many famous writers have
died as a result of having TB.
Charlotte Bronte (the author
of Jane Eyre), and Robert Luis
Stevenson (the author of Dr.
Jekyll and Mr. Hyde) were
among these famous writers.