Tuberculosis-Pulmonary
Tuberculosis-Pulmonary Causes
The disease is caused mainly by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, a type of mycobacteria. There are other mycobacteria that may cause TB but they do not usually infect healthy adults.
Tuberculosis-Pulmonary Definition
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease that is very common and attacks the lungs. The disease can also affect the central nervous system, the lympathic system, circulatory system, genitourinary system, bones, joints, and even the skin. About one-third of the world's population has been infected with the disease and new cases are added at a rate of one per second.
Tuberculosis-Pulmonary Diagnosis
The bacterium that causes TB is slow growing, making it difficult to diagnose to diagnose the disease. Among the tests performed to diagnose the disease are tuberculosis radiology, tuberculin skin test, a serological test, and microbiological smears and cultures.
Tuberculosis-Pulmonary Symptoms and Signs
TB symptoms include chest pain, coughing up blood, and a productive and prolonged cough for more than 3 weeks. Affected individuals also manifest systemic symptoms such as fever, chills, appetite loss, night sweats, pallor, weight loss, and often a tendency to fatigue very easily.
Tuberculosis-Pulmonary Treatment
Antibiotics are used to kill the TB-causing bacteria. The most popular and commonly used antibiotics are rifampicin and isoniazid. But since TB requires longer periods of treatment, usually from 6 to 12 months, a combination of several antibiotics is an option. The use of Rifampicin and isoniazid however are not recommended for use to treat laten tuberculosis since there are high rates of reported cases about detah and liver injury associated with the combined use of said drugs.