– Some facts about tuberculosis that you need to know.
– Why tuberculosis affects some people.
Tuberculosis is an infectious disease that scares a lot of people. This infectious disease is often caused by a species of ‘mycobacterium’, that we usually refer to as ‘Mycobacterium tuberculosis’.
When this disease occurs, it mainly affects the lungs where it causes tubercles. Also, there will be an expectoration, this refers to coughing up fluid from the lungs.
This disease affects the lungs. When a person has this disease, an ejection of phlegm or mucus through coughing or spitting will also occur.
Also, there are two main kinds of tuberculosis and they are latent TB and active TB. When the infection is latent, the bacteria is in the body but in an inactive state.
Latent TB may not be contagious, but they can become active in the long run. On the other hand, in the case of Active TB, the bacteria are active and cause symptoms. This type of infection is also contagious.
Smoking is a major risk factor for contracting this disease. When you smoke tobacco, there is a higher tendency of having it.
When this disease also occurs, there are certain symptoms that show. The symptoms of TB are;
- Weight loss
- Incessant coughing.
- Chest pain.
- Shortness of breath
- Fever and chills.
- Tiredness in its extremity or fatigue.
- Night Sweats.
- Loss of appetite, etc.
For people that have active tuberculosis, it is advisable that they wear a face mask so as to prevent spreading it to other people.
Also, another way to prevent this disease is by using BCG, or Bacille Calmette-Guerin vaccine. The vaccine has the ability to prevent adult pulmonary disease.
People with active TB can also undergo treatment by using isolation techniques along with anti-TB drugs to prevent the spread of the infection.