Tuberculosis (TB) is a potentially fatal contagious disease that spreads between people via coughs and sneezes. Jorge Parada, medical director of infectious disease at Loyola University Health System, noted that TB is the most common infection in the world and the second leading cause of death due to infectious disease, after HIV/AIDS.

CausesWhen a person with untreated TB coughs, sneezes or laughs, he or she can spread bacteria through droplets in the air. Contracting TB typically requires close contact with someone who has TB for an extensive period of time, often in confined quarters. so one is more likely to get TB from a colleague or family member than a stranger.

Someone can be infected with TB (i.e. has the TB germs) but not have TB disease, if the body’s immune system protects him or her–a condition known as latent TB. but the immune system can be weakened by AIDS, diabetes, previous TB exposure, drug abuse, chemotherapy, malnutrition, old age or another factor.

TB has spread concomitantly with HIV because each propels the development of the other. The number of TB cases has risen since the 1980s, reports the Mayo Clinic.

Since TB is an infectious disease, your risk of getting it increase if you live or travel in places with high TB rates. Sections of sub-saharan Africa, India, China, Mexico, the former Soviet Union, southeast Asia and Micronesia have high rates of TB, according to the Mayo Clinic.

SymptomsLatent TB is not contagious and has no symptoms. once active, TB becomes contagious and can cause weight loss, fevers, chills, fatigue and night sweats. Since TB primarily affects the lungs, the most telling signs involve coughing. Coughing up blood, chest pain, breathing difficulties and persistent coughing are common.

DiagnosisDuring a common TB diagnostic skin test, the doctor injects tuberculin into one’s forearm. between two days to three days later, a doctor will see if your arm has a large, hard red bump, which indicates TB infection but not that the disease has transpired. Blood and sputum tests along with a chest X-ray may be necessary to corroborate one’s health or illness.

Since blood and skin tests are not perfect, infectious disease specialist Walt Tomford, noted, “A complete history and physical exam is a bedside diagnostician’s best clinical tool.”

TreatmentThe American Lung Association reports that people with latent TB will receive preventative therapy. The most common therapy of this kind is a six to nine month daily dose of isoniazid (INH). Tomford emphasized the importance of proceeding past denial and taking the prescribed medicine for latent TB so it doesn’t evolve into active TB.

Those with active TB will be prescribed a combination of various medicines for between six and 12 months. Keeping up with proper drug intake is of the utmost importance because if one lapses, and TB comes back it may be drug resistant. this will make it much more difficult to cure. Multi-drug resistant TB is particularly lethal.

KUALA LUMPUR, March 16 (Bernama) — despite being a modern and progressive

country, Malaysia has not been able to bring down the number of tuberculosis

(TB) cases due to the lack of interest and awareness among the people, which

contributed to the yearly increase of one per cent.

Institute of Respiratory Medicine (IPR) director Datuk Dr Abdul Razak

Muttalif said lack of awareness by the people on how serious the sickness, and

how it could affect other people were among the reasons that made it difficult

to control the disease despite it being a curable disease.

He said it was also normal for the institute to receive patients who were

already in serious condition, despite it being a disease that could be cured by

multiple antibiotics.

There were also instances whereby the prescriptions given to the patients

were not followed by them and causing the spread of the disease, he told a press

conference here today.

He said last year, 18,000 people were diagnosed with TB compared with 16,000

RAZAK-TUBERCULOSIS 2 (LAST) KUALA LUMPUR

He said in a move to create more awareness on the disease, the institute in

conjunction with TB Day, which falls on March 24, will be organising a national

level celebration on March 28 at the institute in Jalan Pahang, here.

Dr Abdul Razak said the symptom of TB is prolonged cough, usually more than

two weeks, weight and appetite loss, fever with night sweats and coughing out

He advised those having the symptoms to go for health check-up as it would

affect those around them too.