In this informative article, I will explain in detail the major causes, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of tuberculosis. Make sure you read to the end so that you can understand the whole article.

Tuberculosis is popularly known as (TB) for short, it is currently the ninth leading cause of death globally and also one of the major killers of HIV-positive people. Over 10 million people fell ill with TB in 2016, a quarter of this figure is from Africa which is about 2.5 million people. Also in 2016 over 1.7 million people died from tuberculosis globally and over 400,000 deaths from the African region.

According to a verified report from 2000 to  2014, over 10 million lives were saved in the African Region through tuberculosis diagnosis and treatment.

What Is Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis is also known as TB, is one of the infectious diseases caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis. This bacteria spreads through the air from person to person and it majorly attacks the lungs, it also affects other parts of the body.

Risk Factor of Tuberculosis

There are several causes and risk factors of tuberculosis but these are the major causes of tuberculosis.

Tuberculosis did not have a strong impact on people with strong immune systems, it majorly affected those who are living with a disease or infection that has weakened their immune system.

If you are living with

• HIV/AIDS
• Diabetes
• Severe kidney disease
• Certain cancers
• Cancer treatment, such as chemotherapy
• Drugs to prevent rejection of transplanted organs
• Some drugs used to treat rheumatoid arthritis,
• Crohn’s disease and psoriasis
• Malnutrition or low body weight

Then, you are at high risk of tuberculosis because these diseases will reduce the effectiveness of your immune system which will make it easy for tuberculosis bacteria to affect you.

Symptoms of Tuberculosis

Immediately someone is exposed to TB, he or she won’t experience tuberculosis symptoms. The symptoms of tuberculosis go through three stages which are.

Primary TB Infection

Primary TB Infection is the first stage of TB infection, at this level the bacteria just enter the body and it won’t show any symptoms at this stage especially among people with a strong immune system.

Latent TB Infection

Latent TB Infection is a second stage symptom of TB the body won’t be able to spread the disease to others and it may not show any symptoms at this stage.

Active Disease

Active disease is the third and the last stage of TB symptoms, the bacteria is very active at this stage. You will feel sick and you will spread the bacteria to people around you.

At this stage you may experience any of these;

• Coughing
• Night sweats
• Intermittent fever
• Generalized body aches
• Fatigue
• General sense of being unwell
• Coughing up blood or phlegm
• Chest pain
• Trouble breathing
• Loss of weight and appetite

 Diagnose Of Tuberculosis

When it comes to diagnosing tuberculosis, health practitioners need to carry out several tuberculosis screenings and tests so that they can confirm bacteria before they start treatment.

Doctors also need to carry out history tests, so that they can locate and test those people that may have been affected through the person.

Treatment Of Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis is treatable and there are numerous effective drugs that can cure it within a short period of time.

When it comes to the treatment of tuberculosis there are several instructions that are needed especially when it comes to taking tuberculosis medications so that the bacteria will die to avoid development or transmission to other people.

One of the major problems of treating tuberculosis is that tuberculosis patients stop taking their drugs as soon as they get relieved of the bacteria even though the bacteria is not dead yet

These are the major and most effective drugs that are used to treat tuberculosis

• Nydrazid (isoniazid)
• Rifadin (rifampin)
• Pyrazinamide
• Myambutol (ethambutol)

Prevention of Tuberculosis

There are several ways of protecting yourself and your family from tuberculosis but these are the major and most effective methods of protecting yourself and your family from tuberculosis.

Keep Your Environment Clean

Keep your environment clean and the bacteria are covered in an untitled environment.

Ventilate Your Room And Environment Regularly

Try as much as you can to ventilate your environment so that tuberculosis bacteria won’t spread to your environment.

Regular Medical Check-up

To prevent tuberculosis you need to carry out regular tests of tuberculosis so that you will be able to treat it as quickly as possible before it spreads to other parts of your body.

If you are currently living with tuberculosis, you need to protect yourself so that you won’t spread the bacteria to people around you.

• Wear your face mask always.
• Try as much as you can to stop going to school, work, or public events so that you won’t spread the bacteria to anyone.

Now you know risk factors, symptoms, treatment, and prevention of tuberculosis losses and how you can prevent yourself from deadly disease.