All About Tuberculosis (TB)
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Dear Ask The Doctor: May i know what cause TB? and how to prevent it? what are the symptoms?
Dear Amirul hafiz: Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease caused by bacteria whose scientific name is mycobacterium tuberculosis.
The bacteria get into the air when someone who has a tuberculosis lung infection coughs, sneezes, shouts, or spits (which is common in some cultures). People who are nearby can then possibly breathe the bacteria into their lungs. You don't get TB by just touching the clothes or shaking the hands of someone who is infected. Tuberculosis is spread (transmitted) primarily from person to person by breathing infected air during close contact.
The usual symptoms that occur with an active TB infection are a generalized tiredness or weakness, weight loss, fever and night sweats. If the infection in the lung worsens, then further symptoms can include coughing, chest pain, coughing up of sputum (material from the lungs) and/or blood, and shortness of breath. If the infection spreads beyond the lungs, the symptoms will depend upon the organs involved.
For the prevention of the infection you will need to take INH for up to a year, with periodic checkups to make sure you are taking it as prescribed and that it is not causing undesirable side effects. The BCG vaccine is generally recommended in the countries or communities where the rate of new infection is increasingly prevalent and in very select patients at high risk for tuberculosis and who meet special criteria. |
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 03 April 2011 )
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