What is Tuberculosis?

Writer: Atessa S

You wake up in the middle of the night with sweat dripping down your forehead, feeling a sore throat coming on, you feel weak. Could you be experiencing symptoms of tuberculosis? After COVID-19, tuberculosis (or TB) is the second deadliest infectious killer, caused by mycobacterium tuberculosis which mainly affects the lungs. Tuberculosis cases have recently been on the rise around the world due to the everlasting COVID-19 pandemic. With approximately 1.5 million deaths from TB in 2020, this feels like a sign that we need to do more to prevent the spread of this awful disease.

Symptoms of TB:

Some of the symptoms of tuberculosis can include:

• Feeling of sickness or weakness

• Weight loss

• Fever

• Night sweats

• Sore throat

• Coughing

• Chest pain

• Coughing up blood

How TB Spreads:

Tuberculosis germs enter the air when someone coughs, sneezes, speaks, or sings. When tuberculosis germs enter the air, they can stay there for hours depending on the environment. If someone breathes in that air, they can possibly be infected with latent tuberculosis infection.

Latent TB VS. TB Disease:

Someone with latent tuberculosis infection does not display symptoms of tuberculosis disease and cannot spread the germs to others. The germs in their bodies are not active, however someone with latent tuberculosis can develop tuberculosis disease later on. To prevent this, they are prescribed with treatment.

Since latent tuberculosis does not have active germs, that means that tuberculosis disease is the one with active germs. When these germs are active, they multiply and destroy tissue in the body. People with tuberculosis disease display symptoms and can spread it to others. To heal, they are also prescribed with treatment.

Treatment of Latent TB:

Even though people with latent tuberculosis are asymptomatic and can’t spread it to others, their doctor will probably want them to take a drug to kill their latent tuberculosis so it doesn’t develop into tuberculosis disease. Some people are more likely to develop tuberculosis disease because of other factors like having HIV, being recently exposed to someone else with tuberculosis disease, or people with people with certain medical conditions.

Treatment of TB Disease:

Tuberculosis disease is treated with drugs over the course of 6 to 12 months. It’s crucial that the patient takes exactly what is prescribed to them because if they don’t, the disease can redevelop or the germs that are still alive in their body can become resistant to the drugs.

Sources:

“Tuberculosis (TB).” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 28 Oct. 2011, https://www.cdc.gov/tb/publications/factsheets/general/tb.htm

“Do I Have TB?” The Truth About TB, 2 July 2019, https://www.thetruthabouttb.org/do-i-have-tb/.

“Tuberculosis Deaths Rise for the First Time in More than a Decade Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.” World Health Organization, World Health Organization, 14 Oct. 2021, https://www.who.int/news/item/14-10-2021-tuberculosis-deaths-rise-for-the-first-time-in-more-than-a-decade-due-to-the-covid-19-pandemic