Infectious diseases pose a great danger. Among them is tuberculosis. Often it affects the lungs of a person, but there are other forms. To protect yourself and loved ones from the risk of infection, to reduce the overall morbidity, it is important to know what TB is, what symptoms it has, the types of stages, which bacteria are the causative agents of the disease.
Disease of tuberculosis
The causative agents are strains of an acid-fast bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis. She, getting into the lungs, begins to multiply, cause inflammation. There is a possibility of spreading the generalized form to other organs through the blood and lymph nodes. The first signs of tuberculosis are often confused with manifestations of other illnesses like influenza or a serious cold.
This disease is especially common in developing countries, where people's health is not the strongest, and there is no access to quality medical care. In the risk group are people with low immunity and unhealthy lifestyle. There are primary and secondary forms of the disease, leading to the emergence of focal lesions of the bones, intestinal tract and even the genitourinary system, the development of fibro-cavernous form, the risk of death.
The history of
About what tuberculosis was known even in ancient times, they only called it consumption at that time. In Babylon, under the rule of Hammurabi, it was officially permitted to divorce women suffering from such symptoms. Another Hippocrates - the most famous physician in history, described the typical signs of pulmonary tuberculosis. The infectious nature of this disease was proved in 1882 by the German researcher Robert Koch. From the Greek word phthisis went the name of phthisiology - a section that studies this ailment.
Distribution of
According to statistics, about 80% of patients live in countries of Africa and Asia. The risk of epidemics and mortality exists in densely populated cities and territories. Among the US population, 90-95% of negative reactions to tuberculin tests. More susceptible to infection of men. When the functions of the immune system decrease, the body does not have enough strength to overcome the causative agent of tuberculosis. This happens with age.
Forms of tuberculosis
Like many other infectious diseases, this ailment has several manifestations: infectious or non-contagious. In some diseases, for example, with hepatitis B and C, the patient can infect other people at any stage. When it comes to tuberculosis, there is an open( contagious) and closed( non-contagious) form. The status of the ailment is able to change depending on whether it was started on time, how effectively, effectively.
Open
The most common form is disseminated or infiltrated pulmonary tuberculosis. In this case, a person spits phlegm with microorganisms into the environment through a cough. Open tuberculosis is also referred to as BK + or TB +.These abbreviations indicate that the presence of pathogens in sputum analysis was detected in the patient. These are Bacillus Koch or tubercular bacilli.
Closed
A variety of tuberculosis, in which pathogens are not isolated, is called a closed form. It is not contagious to others and is diagnosed more often openly. Such tuberculosis has the designation BK- or TK-.In such cases, the activity of the infection is relatively lower, and the destruction of cells is slower, but there is always a risk that the disease will become active.
Transmission routes
With the open form of the disease, the tubercle bacillus enters the environment, which leads to infection of other people. Especially dangerous are cases of direct prolonged contact with the carrier of infection. Infection can occur when communicating with people in any team. There are several ways of transmission:
- airborne - when coughing or sneezing, bacteria get into the air and can enter the body of a healthy person through the respiratory tract;
- alimentary - microorganisms enter the body through the digestive tract;
- contact - there are rare cases of infection through the skin;
- intrauterine - the fetus is infected with tuberculosis even before birth from a sick mother.
How tuberculosis develops
How to prevent infection and the development of the disease? It is important not only to know how tuberculosis is affected, but also to be aware of the course of the disease. Infectious lesions are particularly affected by the respiratory system. With its chronic or acute diseases, weakened immunity, bacteria settle on the bronchi and begin to multiply there.
Regardless of the method of infection, the pathogen enters the lymphatic system, which can lead to extrapulmonary form. If the human immune system is healthy, then the infection stops at an early stage. But even in such cases a part of mycobacteria remains, having passed into a latent state. With the slightest weakening of the body, they can become more active and lead to tuberculosis.
Signs of
The main signs of tuberculosis development are:
- long( more than 3 weeks) cough with phlegm;
- hemoptysis, chest pain;
- sweating, temperature increase for a long time;
- enlarged lymph nodes;
- sharp weight loss for no apparent reason;
- lack of appetite;
- presence of osteoarticular pain;
- mood swings and irritability;
- decline in strength, reduced efficiency and general weakness.
The danger is that not all of the above signs are visible to a sick person immediately, not necessarily among them will be present cough. At the first suspicions it is important to pass inspection. At the initial stage, it is easy to cope with the infection, but often patients confuse symptoms with manifestations of influenza or pneumonia.
Diagnosis of
There are several methods for diagnosing tuberculosis at its different stages:
- microbiological examination;
- X-ray diagnosis( photo);
- tuberculin test.
In the first method, a sputum smear is taken for analysis. This allows to detect the presence of infection even at early stages, confirm the diagnosis obtained by other methods of diagnosis, determine the degree of infectiousness. It is possible to detect tubercular lesion with the help of an X-ray. He helps to notice changes in the lungs and, if necessary, to conduct an additional examination.
Together with the regular conduct of fluorography in the population, it is possible to identify the infected with Mantoux test( tuberculin test).In the human body( more often in children) is introduced a substance containing weakened mycobacteria. By reaction to this procedure, determine the fact of infection with a stick of Koch or those patients who require revaccination against tuberculosis.
Treatment
Having learned what consumption or tuberculosis is, according to medical terminology, it is worth familiarizing with the currently available methods of treatment. The fight against tuberculosis requires an integrated approach, which includes both medication and an increase in the protective properties of the body. After consulting the doctor, the patient is prescribed therapy, which consists of the following steps:
- taking anti-TB drugs - every day you need to take 4-5 medicines( eg, Ftivazide, Isoniazid, Ethionamide, Rifabutin), the combination of which destroys Koch's wand;
- physiotherapy - to activate the lungs, the patient does respiratory gymnastics;
- immunization is a complex of measures aimed at increasing the "defense" properties of the organism;
- nutrition - the fight against tuberculosis requires a lot of energy, so patients are assigned a high-calorie diet.
Complications of tuberculosis
They are observed with improper or untimely treatment. Against the background of coughing and hemoptysis, pulmonary hemorrhage and atelectasis can develop. Increased risk of pneumothorax and cardiopulmonary insufficiency. Bronchial or thoracic fistulas may form. Given that the bacteria through the circulatory and lymphatic system spread throughout the body, amyloidosis of organs and even kidney failure are possible.
Prevention
Knowing what causes tuberculosis and what infection routes exist, several methods of prevention for the population have been developed:
- social - improving the quality of the conditions of the external and working environment, the general well-being of people;
- Sanitary - disinfection of premises, wet cleaning, ventilation of premises;
- specific - implies vaccination and revaccination;
- chemoprophylaxis - taking antituberculosis drugs by persons at risk of infection.
The responsibility for protecting others from infection lies with the patients themselves. They should ensure that the infection does not spread. When coughing, it is necessary to cover your mouth with your hand or handkerchief, turn away. Paper towels should be burned after use by an infected person, it is important to allocate a separate dish for the patient only for his personal use.