Is Tuberculosis Still a Major Health Concern?

Tuberculosis is not a disease of the past, it's alive and well in the world today. In fact, it's still relatively common, especially in third world countries where health conditions are poor. Tuberculosis or TB is caused by a bacterium, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and is highly contagious. The bacteria gets into the lungs through inhalation of particles when an infected person sneezes or coughs and doesn't cover their mouth. Although not every person who is exposed to the bacteria will become ill, a good portion of people will. Those who don't show symptoms right away could be carriers and the disease might be lying dormant, only to emerge later on in life. Untreated, TB is estimated to kill about half of the people infected. Each year, there are millions of new cases documented.

As with most diseases, children, the elderly and the immune suppressed are more susceptible to becoming infected. With the spread of diseases like HIV, there are a lot of people with compromised immunity, which has caused an increase in TB cases as well. Another cause of recent cases is that antibiotics are sometimes overused and some of the bacteria are becoming resistant to the antibiotics. Because poorer people are not able to afford medical treatment, they expose other people around them, thereby increasing the cases of TB in poorer cities and nations. There are groups and organizations who raise money and awareness in the fight against TB in these areas.

The symptoms of TB are coughing, usually with blood, fever, pale skin and basic wasting away. TB used to be called consumption because an infected person was consumed by the disease. TB doesn't only infect the lungs. It can move into the bones, lymphatic system and the spine. TB has been around for a long, long time. Even Egyptian mummies thousands of years old have been found with TB infections in their spines. There are different types of the TB bacteria in different areas of the world and scientists can identify with some accuracy, the origin of the particular bacteria. This is useful in determining where an exposure or outbreak may have occurred.

Anyone who needs to be around someone with TB should always protect themselves by wearing a mask and limiting contact. Even eating utensils can transmit the disease if they are used by an infected person and not thoroughly disinfected. People who are infected must be quarantined to avoid spreading the disease to other people. Since some people might not be aware that the are affected, as mentioned above, standard TB tests are given to school children and anyone who might be working in an area where TB is possible, like hospitals or medical labs. As advanced as modern medicine is today, nobody has found a way to eliminate tuberculosis, but perhaps one day someone will. Until then, everyone should willingly be tested for exposure and seek treatment immediately if they are diagnosed.