Tuberculosis

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Tuberculosis (TB)

The purpose of this paper is to outline all of the details surrounding the bacteria and disease known as tuberculosis, or TB. Within this paper we shall cover topics including; causes, types, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of tuberculosis.
Tuberculosis is an infection caused by a bacterium. This bacterial infection causes more deaths in the world than any other disease, and it is estimated that over two billion people are infected with tuberculosis World Wide.

In the United States alone there are over fifteen million people carrying the bacteria. If the tuberculosis bacterium becomes active, active being one of its two stages, it will kill roughly sixty percent of the people who go untreated. This results in roughly three million deaths each year from TB around the world. It is not exactly known how many people carry the bacteria, but in the United States alone there are about twenty thousand carriers who develop active tuberculosis each year. Treatment is available for those individuals with tuberculosis, and when treated, ninety percent of tuberculosis victims survive.
Tuberculosis infection is caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It is also known as M. tuberculosis, tubercle bacilli, and TB. Tuberculosis is a bacterium that is spread from person to person through the air we breathe. Those carrying active tuberculosis expel the bacteria as they cough, breath, or sneeze. It can then be ingested by others who breathe in these particles. Once a person becomes infected with TB, the spread of the bacteria is controlled by that individual’s immune system. The infection of the bacteria has two stages; either latent or active. The term latent infection is used for those carrying the tuberculosis bacteria. Active Tuberculosis is when the body can no longer suppress the bacteria, and it spreads through-out the body. Those who are carrying the active form of tuberculosis brea...