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World Tuberculosis Day was chosen on March 24th of each year to raise public awareness of the global TB epidemic and efforts to eradicate the disease.
In 2012, 8.6 million people and 1.3 million died from tuberculosis, an infectious disease that mainly affects the lungs. The bacteria that cause TB from one person to another spread through coughing and sneezing. Tuberculosis began to increase in 1985, in part because of the HIV virus that causes AIDS, which weakens the patient's immune system, preventing it from fighting the germs of TB. Many strains of TB are resistant to the drugs most commonly used to treat this disease. People with active TB should therefore take several types of medication for several months to eliminate the infection and prevent the development of antibiotic resistance.
Symptoms: While your body may harbor bacteria that cause TB, your immune system can usually keep you from getting sick. That's why doctors distinguish between: Underlying TB: In this case, you are infected with TB but your body's bacteria remain inactive It causes no symptoms and is not contagious but can become active.
Although your body can harbor bacteria that cause TB, your immune system can usually keep you from getting sick. This is why doctors distinguish between:
Potential TB: In this case, you are infected with TB, but the bacteria in your body remain inactive and cause no symptoms. An estimated 2 billion people are living with underlying TB.
Active TB: This disease can make you sick and contagious, and can occur in the first few weeks after TB infection or years later. Fatigue, fever, night sweats.
Tuberculosis can also affect other parts of the body, including the kidneys, spine or brain.
When tuberculosis occurs outside of your lungs, the symptoms vary depending on the organs involved. Tuberculosis can give you back pain in your spine.
When should I go to the doctor?
Consult your doctor. If you have any of the above symptoms, they are often signs of TB, but they can also result from other medical problems during which your doctor may perform tests to determine the cause. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend screening for individuals at increased risk of TB, including:
HIV / AIDS.
The use of intravenous drugs.
In contact with infected persons, belonging to a country or working in areas where tuberculosis is common, such as prisons or old people's homes.
Work in the field of health care and treatment of people at risk of tuberculosis.
reasons:
Anyone can get TB, but some factors may increase the risk of contracting the disease, including:
Weak immune system
The immune system often successfully resists TB bacteria, but your body can not defend you effectively if your resistance is weak. Some types of cancer, chemotherapy, drugs to prevent rejection of organ transplants, some drugs used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease, psoriasis, malnutrition, whether you are young or older .
Lack of medical care
Intravenous drug use or excessive alcohol
Tobacco consumption
Regular contacts with people living with or living with a person with TB.
Complications:
Without treatment, TB can be fatal. An active disease usually affects your lungs but can spread to other parts of your body through the blood, for example:
Spinal pain: Backache and sclerosis.
Joint damage: Arthritis usually affects the hips and knees.
Swelling of the membranes covering your brain (meningitis): Causing a permanent or sporadic headache for several weeks.
Liver or kidney problems: Hepatic and renal function weakens the filtration of waste and impurities from the blood.
Heart problems: Tuberculosis infrequently infects the tissues around your heart, causing inflammation and groups of fluids that can affect your heart's ability to pump efficiently. This situation can be fatal.
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