Tuberculosis

Tiny germs can make you sick.

These germs often live in your lungs. They spread through the air. This happens when people cough or sneeze.

Most people with the germs do not feel sick. But some people do get very ill. They might have a bad cough or a fever. Doctors use special medicine to help them.

This medicine must be taken for a long time. It is good to stay healthy.

Tuberculosis is a disease caused by tiny germs.

These germs are called bacteria. Most of the time, they attack the lungs. They can also affect other parts of the body.

Many people have these germs but do not feel sick. This is called latent tuberculosis. People with latent TB cannot spread it to others. But some people get an active infection. This can make them very ill. They might have a fever or a bad cough. They may also lose weight.

Active TB spreads through the air. It moves from person to person when someone coughs or sneezes.

To find the germs, doctors use tests. They might check a person's blood or skin.

Doctors treat TB with antibiotics. These are medicines that kill germs.

People must take these medicines for a long time. Some germs are now hard to kill. We call this drug resistance. This makes the disease harder to treat. In 2024, TB was a leading cause of death from germs.

Tuberculosis, or TB, is a contagious disease caused by tiny germs.

These germs are called Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria. Most of the time, TB affects the lungs. However, it can also attack other parts of the body. Many people have an infection but do not feel sick. This is called latent tuberculosis. People with latent TB do not spread the disease to others. But for some, the infection becomes active. Active TB can cause a cough with blood, fever, and weight loss.

TB spreads through the air from person to person. When someone with active TB in their lungs coughs, speaks, or sneezes, the germs travel.

A person with a weak immune system is more likely to get sick from a latent infection. Doctors use two main ways to find the germs. One way is a blood test called an interferon-gamma release assay, or IGRA. Another way is the tuberculin skin test. To prevent the disease, people use the BCG vaccine.

Doctors also screen people who are at high risk of catching it.

Humans have lived with TB since ancient times. Researchers found signs of it in Egyptian mummies from 3000 to 2400 BC.

In the 1800s, it was known as consumption. During that time, it caused about one quarter of all deaths in Europe. In 1882, a scientist named Robert Koch identified the specific bacteria.

He won a Nobel Prize for this big discovery. Because of his work, we celebrate World Tuberculosis Day on March 24 each year.

Treating TB used to be very hard. Before 1946, doctors sometimes collapsed a lung to help it rest.

Then, the antibiotic streptomycin was developed to help cure it. Today, treatment uses many different antibiotics over a long time. However, a new problem is growing called drug resistance. This happens when the bacteria learn to survive the medicines. Some types, like multi-drug resistant TB, are very hard to treat.

These cases are much more expensive and take longer to heal.

TB is still a very important part of our world today. It is estimated that 2 billion people have latent TB.

In 2024, TB newly infected about 10.7 million people. It also caused 1.23 million deaths that year. This makes it the leading cause of death from an infectious disease. Just like how you might get a cold from a sneeze, TB moves through the air. Understanding how these tiny bacteria work helps us stay healthy.

Tuberculosis, often called TB, is a highly contagious disease.

It is caused by a specific bacterium named Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB). While TB most commonly attacks the lungs, it can also infect other parts of the body. The disease exists in two distinct states: latent and active. Latent tuberculosis means the bacteria are in the body, but the person shows no symptoms. People with latent TB cannot spread the disease to others. However, a small number of these infections progress into active disease. If active TB is not treated, it can be fatal.

Active tuberculosis spreads through the air between people. When a person with active TB in their lungs coughs, speaks, sneezes, or spits, the bacteria travel in tiny droplets.

This allows the infection to move from one person to another. People with weakened immune systems are at a higher risk of a latent infection becoming active. To find the bacteria, doctors use two principal tests. One is the interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA), which uses a blood sample. The other is the tuberculin skin test. Prevention relies on screening high-risk groups, such as those living or working near people with active TB. Vaccination with the bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine is also a key tool for prevention.

History shows that tuberculosis has been present in humans since ancient times.

Skeletal remains show that prehistoric humans had TB as early as 4000 BC. Researchers have even found tubercular decay in the spines of Egyptian mummies from 3000 to 2400 BC. In the 1800s, the disease was known as "consumption." During this era, it was responsible for an estimated 25% of all deaths in Europe. In England, one in four deaths in 1815 was due to consumption. In France, TB caused one in six deaths by 1918. These high numbers caused widespread public concern, especially among the urban poor.

Scientists worked for centuries to understand the cause of the disease. In 1720, Benjamin Marten suggested that microbes caused consumption and spread through close contact. In 1819, René Laennec identified that tubercles in the lungs were a primary characteristic of the disease. Later, Jean Antoine Villemin demonstrated in 1865 that TB could be transmitted between humans and animals. The most significant breakthrough came on March 24, 1882.

On this day, Robert Koch identified and described the Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacillus. Koch later won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for this discovery. Today, the world marks World Tuberculosis Day every March 24 to honor his work.

Treating tuberculosis has changed drastically over time. Before the mid-1900s, doctors had few options. They sometimes used a surgical technique called pneumothorax to collapse an infected lung. This was intended to let the lung rest so lesions could heal.

In 1946, the development of the antibiotic streptomycin made a cure a reality. Modern treatment requires using multiple antibiotics over a long period. However, a serious challenge has emerged since the 1980s: antibiotic resistance. Some strains of the bacteria have learned to survive standard medicines.

There are different levels of drug resistance in tuberculosis. Primary drug resistance occurs when a person catches TB that is already resistant to drugs. Secondary or acquired resistance happens when a person's treatment is inadequate or they do not follow the prescribed regimen. Multi-drug resistant TB (MDR-TB) is defined by resistance to two main drugs: rifampicin and isoniazid.

Even more serious is extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB), which resists rifampicin and other specific drugs. Treating MDR-TB is much harder. It requires second-line drugs that are more toxic and expensive. In the UK, treating MDR-TB can cost ten times more than standard treatment.

Despite medical progress, TB remains a major global health issue. It is estimated that approximately 2 billion people, or one quarter of the world's population, have latent TB.

In 2024, TB is estimated to have newly infected 10.7 million people. It also caused an estimated 1.23 million deaths that year. Because of these numbers, TB is currently the leading cause of death from an infectious disease. Managing the disease requires constant work in vaccination, sanitation, and the development of new medicines to fight resistant strains.