Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease that mainly affects your lungs and is usually caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis not only affects your lungs but can also affects the other parts of your body too. Most of the times such infections do not have symptoms, in which case later on it is known to be as tuberculosis. About 10% of latent infections further becomes an active disease which, if not been treated could kill about half of those affected.
Symptoms:
- Chronic cough with blood containing mucus
- Fever
- Night sweats
- Weight loss
- Fatigue
- Chest pain, or pain with breathing or coughing
- Loss of appetite
- Unintentional weight loss
The kidneys, spine, brain and also other parts of the body can also be affected by tuberculosis.
Tuberculosis is spread through the tiny droplets released into the air when people who have active TB in their lungs cough, spit, speak, or sneeze. The disease cannot be outspread by the people with latent TB. A higher risk of active infection mostly found in those who have HIV/AIDS or those who already smoke. Many other factors that make people more susceptible to TB infection like both malnutrition and overcrowding, people who inject illicit drugs, high-risk ethnic minorities inhabitants and employees of locales where vulnerable people gather (e.g. prisons and homeless shelters), medically underprivileged and resource-poor communities, also the children who come in close contact with high-risk category patients, and also those health-care providers who are serving these patients. Also the people who smoke cigarettes have nearly twice the risk of TB as compared to the non-smokers.
Chest X-rays, as well as microscopic examination and culture of body fluids are mainly done to diagnose active TB. Diagnosis of latent TB depends upon the tuberculin skin test (TST) or blood tests.
For those at higher risks, early detection and treatment of cases, and vaccination with the bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine is done for the prevention of TB. Those at high risk involves household, workplace, and social contacts of people with active TB.
Treatment demands multiple antibiotics to be taken into use for a longer period of time. Antibiotic resistance is an increasing problem with growing rates of multiple drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB).
Dr. Satya Ranjan Sahu, one of the best pulmonologist in Delhi, Rajinder Nagar who provides one of the finest interstitial lung disease treatments in South Delhi has effectively been treating patients over the years helping them restore their lung related issues in the most effective manners.
An expert pulmonologist like him would ask you some questions where your answers will help him diagnose the cause adequately. Post this only the doctor will recommend medications or other treatments depending upon the person’s analysis around their symptoms and medical conditions.