ATLANTA — the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday released new recommendations to treat latent tuberculosis infection.

The new recommendations, published in CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, provide guidance on how to administer a new 12-dose regimen for TB preventive therapy that will significantly shorten and simplify the course of treatment from about nine months to 12 weeks. the recommendations are based on the results of three clinical trials, as well as expert opinion.

“this regimen has the potential to be a game-changer in the United States when it comes to fighting TB,” CDC director Thomas Frieden said. “it gives us a new, effective option that will reduce by two-thirds — from nine months to three months — the length of time someone needs to take medicine to prevent latent TB infection from progressing to active TB disease.”

Latent TB infection occurs when a person has TB bacteria but does not have symptoms and cannot transmit the bacteria to others. In the United States, the number of persons with TB disease is at an all-time low (11,182 total cases were reported in 2010); however, approximately 4% of the U.S. population, or 11 million people, are infected with the TB bacterium. TB continues to disproportionately affect people of color and foreign-born persons in this country.

“If we are going to achieve our goal of TB elimination in the United States, we must ensure that those with latent TB infection receive appropriate evaluation and treatment to prevent their infection from progressing to TB disease and possibly spreading to others,” said Kevin Fenton, M.D., director of CDC’s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention.  “it is critical that we accelerate progress against TB in the United States in order to avoid a resurgence of the disease.”

The new 12-dose regimen adds another effective treatment option to the prevention toolkit for TB, and is not meant to replace other preventative treatment regimens for all patients where the new regimen is not the best option. the regimen includes 12 once-weekly doses of rifapentine and isoniazid. Doses should be taken under the supervision of a health care worker to ensure completion of doses and to allow for monitoring of safety among patients.

Tuberculosis is a chronic infectious disease in 90% of cases affect the pulmonary system, and in 10% – and other organ systems (central nervous system, heart, eyes, skin, organs of the abdominal cavity, bones and joints, Uro-genital system etc.).
in the past, disease was a problem in the population of poor countries. Today, tuberculosis is widespread in almost all developed countries in the world.
The germ of tuberculosis is Mikobakterium tuberkulozis (Koch’s bacterium), which is characterized by considerable resistance in the external environment, especially long remained separated in sputum of patients, even after their drying.
Most people who become infected with TB bacteria are able to “fight” with them and stop their growth – bacteria remain to live in the body of an infected person, but not active. after a while it can be activated by itself. This condition is called hidden tuberculosis infection – people with a hidden infection not identified the disease symptoms and can not infect others.
Sources of infection may be tuberculosis humans and animals (mainly cattle, less pigs, poultry, etc.) and their products.
Penetration of the infection most often occurs in the airways. Coughing, sneezing, conversation sick pay tuberculosis bacilli into the air. Airborne by coughing and expectoration people in the vicinity could be infected directly by airborne means. in the sputum of patients contains millions of bacteria. Infection can be prenese by dust in the rooms and streets where tuberculosis bacteria remain viable for a long time.
Infection with tuberculosis is possible dietary: by consuming milk from diseased cows or products made from it; consumption of raw or inadequately cooked infected eggs, for use nanedostatachno heat-treated meat from sick birds and pigs.
it is possible, though rare, infection with tuberculosis to become a contact time in the damaged skin and mucous membranes, which is typical for people with occupations related to farming.
Direct contact with someone with tuberculosis;
Smoking and alcohol abuse;
Comorbidities, such as: chronic nonspecific lung diseases (chronic bronchitis, silicosis bronhoektazii), diabetes ulcers of the stomach, mental illness, and other allergic conditions;
Lack of vaccination against tuberculosis or poor implementation of same;
Reduced resistance capabilities of the organism as a result of: spent infections (measles, whooping cough, flu and flu-like conditions, etc..) Malnutrition (especially protein deficiency in food) ihipovitaminozi, unsanitary working conditions and lifestyle, puberty, pregnancy and lactation;
Carriers of HIV.
Symptoms include:
Cough that can last weeks, beginning in a slight cough and progresses in the disease process and increases the cough becomes wet;
Expectoration – the sick pay mainly morning phlegm, sometimes mixed with blood;
Fever – the patients have fever for an extended period of time (even months). it is possible that the disease can proceed without fever;
Sweating – it was plenty, especially at night;
Chest pain – they occur in most patients between the shoulder blades in the shoulder and lateral chest while enhancing breathing and cough;
Anorexia – it leads to weight reduction;
Shortness of breath – this feature is characteristic of advanced stages of disease;
Fatigue and frustration – these symptoms continue longer.
Tuberculosis can occur completely asymptomatic in about 15% of cases. in adults often resembles pneumonia or other infectious disease.
The worst problem – and the easiest to solve – is bad diagnosis. Over 80% of all cases are concentrated in 22 countries, 9 of which are in Africa, 11 in Asia and Russia. Nearly 40% of all cases in these countries remain untreated. it is estimated that 1.4 million people suffer from both HIV / AIDS and tuberculosis, but only a quarter of them were found. HIV increased 20-fold Russian tuberculosis.
Most types of TB can be cured with drugs for 10 euros, if diagnosed in time. in patients who are late to start treatment, microbes can develop resistance to most common drugs. Treatment can cost thousands of dollars and take two years, with no guarantee of success. “Without significant investment in technology and opportunities for prevention, diagnosis and treatment, sustained virus strain may become dominant in the coming decades,” warns the study.

September 13, 2010 in Tuberculosis

When the tuberculosis bacteria spread out from the lungs and affect other healthy parts of the body by passing through blood or lymph systems, this condition is known as miliary tuberculosis. the infection can be inactive for many years and go undetected. in some cases, it can cause immediate problems. People with a weak immune system, especially children and elderly adults are more at risk of developing miliary tuberculosis. in the United States, the incidence of this condition is more in men when compared to women. This has been attributed to medical and socio-economic factors.

Signs and SymptomsThe signs and symptoms of miliary tuberculosis are:

Respiratory problems: Miliary TB mainly affects the lungs. As the TB bacteria spreads in the lungs, tiny growths called “tubercles” are formed around the tissue where the bacteria spreads. these tubercles damage the lung tissue and cause irritation causing cough. They also cause chest pain, bloody sputum, shortness of breath and difficult breathing.

Fever and Night Sweats: As the body’s defence mechanism fights the infection, the person may develop fever. As the body tries to regulate its temperature, chills and night sweats may become a common occurrence.

Loss of Appetite and Weight Loss: the person may experience loss of appetite due to the fever and fatigue associated with the disease and other factors. As the body spends a lot of energy in fighting the infection, loss of appetite can lead to drastic weight loss and anemia in the long run.

Swelling of Liver, Spleen and Lymph nodes: the lymph nodes hold the bacteria in place till the white blood cells attack and kill them. Miliary TB causes the lymph nodes to swell as they try to hold in bacteria. the liver and spleen take part in cleaning the blood and may become swollen too.

Joint pain: This may occur when bacteria spreads to the bone or joints. A person may also experience joint pain due to fever.

As the TB spreads to other parts of the body, symptoms may wary. They may include:

• Lower back pain
• Presence of blood in urine
• Rashes on the skin

If you notice any of the above mentioned symptoms and suspect that you have contracted the TB bacteria, consult your doctor. your doctor may perform certain tests to confirm the presence of the bacteria and then suggest a suitable treatment plan.

Tuberculosis (TB) is a very common infection in India that is also very contagious. When an infected person sneezes or coughs, air particles containing the TB bacteria (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) can easily spread from person to person. each infected person can infect up to another 10 people each year.  the symptoms and signs of TB can vary, depending on the organ(s) that is affected by the bacteria. TB most commonly nests in the lungs but can also affect the kidneys, bones and brain.

According to WHO, TB accounts for about 20% of the global TB cases. each year, about 2 million people in India develop TB, and  over 300,000 die because of it.

.Anyone can catch TB, especially if they are in a closed space with the affected person.  the unaffected person inhales droplets with bacteria and these bacteria reach the lungs.  here, the person’s immune system can fight against the bacteria.  If successful, the bacteria will remain in the lungs but will be “latent” (inactive and not causing any problems at the present).  If the immune system is not successful in containing the bacteria, then an active case of TB can develop.  Once the bacteria invade the body and overwhelm the immune response of the body, they can also find their way to various organs through the blood stream.

People with a latent TB infection don’t have any symptoms, don’t feel sick, cannot infect others but they have a positive skin test (Mantoux Test) since antibodies (defenses) to the bacteria were formed at the time of the initial infection.  Up to one-third of the world’s population is considered to have latent TB infections, as estimated by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2008.  Treating latent TB is important.  a latent infection can be activated, especially if your immune system is weakened for any reason, including nutritional deficiencies or infection with HIV.

In the case of an active infection, signs and symptoms vary according to the organ which is affected. When the lungs are infected, signs and symptoms of TB are:

1. A cough persisting for 2 to 3 weeks and beyond, which is usually worse in the mornings
2. Chest pain
3. Blood in the sputum (the mucus and saliva produced when coughing or clearing throat)
4. Breathlessness

Back pain may be caused by tuberculosis of the spine, and blood in the urine may be caused by tuberculosis in your kidneys.  TB in the brain can cause headaches, a stiff neck, confusion, vomiting, an altered mental state, seizures and other signs and symptoms related to the nerves.

In general, a person with active TB in any organ may have these signs and symptoms:

1. Weakness
2. Feeling tired
3. Weight loss
4. Loss of appetite
5. Chills
6. Fever
7. Sweating in the nighttime while sleeping, even if the weather is cold

If you or someone you know is experiencing any of these symptoms, or has reason to think they have been exposed to TB then one should seek consultation from a healthcare worker and the public health authorities.  These healthcare workers will perform one of two tests: a test on the skin and one of the sputum (mucus produced when coughing).  for those people who have had the BCG vaccine against TB, which is mandatory at birth in India, may have a “positive” skin test despite not being infected with TB  the skin test will need to be re-examined two days after it is given.  If a sputum sample is provided, the results may take longer as they need to be sent for laboratory work.