Facts about Tuberculosis

Facts and Questions about Tuberculosis

What is TB?
- Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease caused by a bacterium that spreads through the air,starburt slots usually through coughing

How common is TB?
- According to the World Health Organization, more than 8.8 million people worldwide are infected with tuberculosis, and almost 1.6 million people per year die from tuberculosis.
- “TB continues to be a really major problem in the world. It’s huge,” Hamilton says.
- Now, due to HIV infection, the rate of TB is also increasing and there are many HIV/TB co-infected people

How does TB spread?
- TB is caused by the bacillus Mycobacterium tuberculosis and is spread through the air when someone who has infectious TB coughs or sneezes

When should we suspect TB?
- When people get sick with tuberculosis, their symptoms may include fever, night sweats, cough, appetite loss, weight loss, bloody phlegm, and loss of energy

Who gets TB?
- Because the TB bacillis is breathed in it can infect anyone, both rich and poor

How can I know I have TB?
- Health workers will arrange for an analysis of your sputum.

Can TB be cured?
- Patients are put on a course of treatment for a period of 6 to 8 months as soon as TB is diagnosed

Timely detection and correct diagnosis
Early detection of TB is important to prevent further transmission. Diagnosis is often delayed for TB, which can be due to multiple factors: lack of knowledge of the disease in low-incidence settings, non-specific symptoms (especially in the case of HIV co-infection and extrapulmonary TB), and inadequate access to healthcare for vulnerable groups.
Completion of treatment
Completion of treatment is important to cure patients and prevent transmission. TB treatment involves taking a combination of drugs for several months. The treatment often causes side-effects and can be costly. Unfinished treatment or non-compliance to the prescribed treatment is problematic as it can lead to drug-resistance. TB patients often face difficulties in adhering to treatment and therefore require patient-centered support to enable them to follow a full course of treatment.
Multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) TB
Variants of TB that are resistant to antibiotics are more difficult and expensive to treat and have higher fatality rates. Their spread is a major challenge to the elimination of TB.

HIV/AIDS, TB, and malaria kill 6 million people every year nearly 2 million deaths are caused by TB.
TB is curable but continues to kill 5000 people EACH day
TB is a disease of poverty. Virtually all TB deaths occur in the developing world, affecting mostly young adults in their most productive years
TB is a leading cause of death among people living with HIV as their immune system is weakened. A quarter of TB deaths are HIV associated and most of them are in Africa
Global TB incidence is growing by 1% each year because of the rapid increase in Africa.
2 billion people (1/3 of the World’s population are infected with TB bacilli, the germ that causes TB infection and disease. 1 in 10 persons infected with the bacilli will develop TB disease.
TB is contagious and spreads through the air. If not treated each person with TB infects on average 10 to 15 others each year
TB is a worldwide pandemic
Multi-Drug Resistant TB (MDR – TB) is a form of TB that does not respond to standard drug treatment. MDR – TB is currently a major hurdle in the fight against TB.