Tuberculosis Alex Corral

So…What is Tuberculosis?  Bacterial Disease that affects parts of the body, i.e. kidneys, bones, joints but usually the lungs.  Robert Koch isolated the tubercle bacillus in 1882 and est. it as an infectious disease.  Mycobacterium Tuberculosis  Rod-shaped, slow growing. Cell wall has high acid content, which makes it resistant to oral fluids.  NO ONE IS SAFE FROM TB!!!

How do people get TB???  It is transferred by salvia or mucus. Usually when someone with TB coughs or sneezes.

How would I know if I had it???  Not noticeable until a few months or maybe years after infected…usually when it is advanced  About 15% of those infected get develop TB in an organ other than the lungs, 25% for those untreated.  Only those who have the disease NOT infection can spread TB.

What exactly does it do? Once infected particle reach the alveoli( those sacks in your lungs)  Enter bloodstream and spreads to other organs.  They love organs with high oxygen pressure!! Symptoms are…  Fatigue, weight loss, night sweats, low- grade fever, and cough. Can be mistaken for another disease.

Treatments…  No need for surgery and no more going off into the mountains.  Treatments involves medication for several months, therapy for those with active TB.  And if it goes untreated…you’ll die.

What is being done to prevent this?  For one, cover your mouth when sneezing or coughing.  Take all your medication, and finish the therapy

TB in the CW  Records show that 6,497 soldiers of the Union died of TB, but most of those with the disease were discharged before they died from them.