Tuberculosis (TB) - Medic Drive

What is tuberculosis

Tuberculosis is an airborne infection caused by the organism Mycobacterium tuberculosis that mainly affects the lungs.

Forms of TB

Tb manifests in various forms. The most common form is the pulmonary tuberculosis (TB in lungs). Other forms of TB usually referred to as extrapulmonary TB ( TB in places other than the lungs] includes, but is not limited to:

Tuberculous Spondylitis (TB of the spine);
Tuberculous Meningitis;
Abdominal Tuberculosis (including Tuberculous Peritonitis, Enteritis and Mesenteric adenitis);
Tuberculosis of the Joints;
TB of the Gonads (Testes and Ovaries);
TB of the kidneys;
TB of the breasts;
Skeletal TB (TB of the bone and joint);
Lymph node TB;

Types of Tuberculosis

Latent TB
Active TB Disease
Military or Disseminated TB (widespread form of the disease).

Which bacteria causes tuberculosis

The bacteria that causes tuberculosis is the Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb)

Symptoms of Tuberculosis

Signs and symptoms of TB include

Cough that lasts three or more weeks
Coughing up blood
Chest pain while breathing or coughing
Fatigue
Unintentional weight loss
Chills
Night Sweats
Loss of appetite
Fever

Treatment of tuberculosis

tuberculosis treatment Credit : Timonina/Shutterstock

Treatment of tuberculosis involves a combination of the following:

Use of anti-tuberculosis drugs
Antibiotics
Special diet
Prebiotics
Vitamins
Immunomodulators
Immunostimulants

About the author

Author profile

Nwasom Bianze

Pharmacist at Medic Drive | info@medicdrive.org | Website

Nwasom is a pharmacy graduate and a pharmacist currently practising in the United Kingdom. I have great experience communicating with patients and their family as gained through working as a pharmacist in both the hospital and community pharmacy sector. I love writing so it was a natural thing to try and pass medical and health information on through writing.