Tuberculosis, tuberculosis symptoms, tuberculosis treatment.

Tuberculosis is caused by bacteria called Mycobacterium tuberculosis or tubercle bacillus. During an active phase of Tuberculosis the tubercle bacillus proliferates in the lungs of a patient, poisoning the human system with the toxins it releases. The process of Tuberculosis intoxication is under way, otherwise poisoning of the human system. Treatment of tuberculosis

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is resistant to a variety of physical and chemical factors, cold, heat, moisture and light. Under natural conditions in absence of sunlight they may remain viable for several months. The germs may survive for 10 days in the dust outdoors and stay alive for three months on pages of a book. In water the germ survives for a very long time (150 days). Mycobacterium tuberculosis withstands decay processes and stays viable in buried dead bodies for several months.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is an airborne infection, which is contracted through inhalation of the germs escaped from the lungs of a sick person. Besides the lungs the disease may affect various organs and tissues of the human system: eyes, bones, skin, the urogenital system, intestines etc.

When untreated the active tuberculosis death rate amounts up to 50% within a year or two. The remaining 50% of untreated cases develop into a chronic disease. A chronic patient may live for some time continuously releasing MTB and posing threat for surrounding people.

Symptoms of tuberculosis

When the causative bacteria enter the body (usually at the lungs or any other organ) a primary focal inflamation develops which manifests itself by common inflammation symptoms. But unlike common infections the Tuberculosis inflammatory process progresses very slowly (it is an infection which lasts for years) and reveals a tendency to necrosis of the primary infection location. Complaints may range widely and can be divided into non-specific, i.e. feeling seedy, weakness, subfebrile temperature, bad apetite, weight loss, paleness of skin etc. and specific ones (that is basically characteristic of Tuberculosis), i.e. morning and night sweating (as an attritional sign of intoxication), morning and night temperature changes not exceeding 0.5 degree, beleaguering lengthy coughing fits etc.

Treatment of tuberculosis