Tuberculosis is also known as TB or pulmonary tuberculosis. In a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the CDC stated, "11,545 TB cases were reported to CDC from the 50 states and the District of Columbia for 2009, representing a 10.5 percent decrease from 2008."
Also in 2009, the CDC reported more than 70 percent of TB cases were brought to the United States by someone who is travelling or visiting the United States. TB is an airborne disease which spreads through the water particles in your breath.
According to the CDC, the cause of tuberculosis is the bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The CDC stated, "bacteria usually attack the lungs, but TB bacteria can attack any part of the body such as the kidney, spine, and brain. If not treated properly, TB disease can be fatal."
Those at greatest risk for TB are those with a suppressed immune system, the elderly and children.
According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, ̎the primary stage of TB usually does not cause symptoms.̎ Later tuberculosis symptoms include:
• Unintentional weight loss
• Excessive sweating, especially at night
• Fever
• Fatigue
• Wheezing
• Breathing difficulty
• Chest pain
• Cough (usually cough up mucus)
• Coughing up blood
The CDC’s website stated there are two tuberculosis tests administered to detect if you are infected with the TB bacteria. Those tests are called TB blood tests and TB skin test (TST). Other types of testing for TB include a testing on your sputum (the mucus from your cough) or a chest x-ray.
Tuberculosis treatment takes a minimum of nine months. If you have a suppressed immune system, the treatment can take longer. TB treatment is divided into two categories. The first is latent TB infection and the second is active TB disease.
Latent TB infection means you have the virus in your body but you do not have any symptoms. Also, you not contagious and you may never become sick with TB. Treatment for latent TB is nine months of the medicine isoniazid (INH). Active TB disease is treated for 9 to 12 months with various doctor prescribed medications.
According to the CDC, the tuberculosis vaccine BCG, or bacille Calmette-Guérin, is a vaccine for TB disease. The CDC stated "this vaccine is not widely used in the United States, but it is often given to infants and small children in other countries where TB is common. BCG vaccine does not always protect people from getting TB."
References:
2009 Reported Tuberculosis in the United States. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved October 27, 2011, from http://www.cdc.gov/tb/statistics/reports/2009/pdf/report2009.pdf
CDC Data & Statistics | Feature: Countries of Origin of Foreign-Born Cases of Tuberculosis (TB) Diagnosed in the United States. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved October 27, 2011, from http://www.cdc.gov/Features/dsworldtbday
CDC | TB | Basic TB Facts. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved October 27, 2011, from http://www.cdc.gov/TB/topic/basics/default.htm
CDC | TB | Testing & Diagnosis. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved October 27, 2011, from http://www.cdc.gov/TB/topic/testing/default.htm
CDC | TB | Treatment. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved October 27, 2011, from http://www.cdc.gov/tb/topic/treatment/default.htm
CDC | TB | Vaccine and Immunizations. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved October 27, 2011, from http://www.cdc.gov/tb/topic/vaccines/default.htm
Pulmonary tuberculosis - PubMed Health. National Center for Biotechnology Information. Retrieved October 27, 2011, from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001141
Pulmonary tuberculosis - PubMed Health. National Center for Biotechnology Information. Retrieved October 27, 2011, from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001141
Reviewed October 27, 2011
by Michele Blacksberg RN
Edited by Jody Smith