What is TB?
Tuberculosis (TB) is a disease caused by bacteria called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The 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. TB disease was once the leading cause of death in the United States.
TB is spread through the air from one person to another. The bacteria are put into the air when a person with active TB disease of the lungs or throat coughs or sneezes. People nearby may breathe in these bacteria and become infected.
However, not everyone infected with TB bacteria becomes sick. People who are not sick have what is called latent TB infection. People who have latent TB infection do not feel sick, do not have any symptoms, and cannot spread TB to others. But, some people with latent TB infection go on to get TB disease.
People with active TB disease can be treated and cured if they seek medical help. Even better, people with latent TB infection can take medicine so that they will not develop active TB disease.
2006-06-23 06:39:23
·
answer #1
·
answered by alley7@rogers.com 2
·
0⤊
0⤋
Tuberculosis (commonly abbreviated as TB) is an infection caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which most commonly affects the lungs (pulmonary TB) but can also affect the central nervous system (meningitis), lymphatic system, circulatory system (Miliary tuberculosis), genitourinary system, bones and joints.
Tuberculosis is one of the most deadly and common major infectious diseases today. As of 2004, 14.6 million people have active TB disease with nine million new cases of the disease and nearly two million deaths, [1] mostly in developing countries. However, developing countries are not the only places with tuberculosis. There is a rising number of people in the developed world who contract tuberculosis because they have compromised immune systems, typically as a result of immunosupressive drugs or HIV/AIDS. These people are at particular risk of tuberculosis infection and active tuberculosis disease.
Most of those infected (90%) have asymptomatic latent TB infection (LTBI). There is a 10% lifetime chance that LTBI will progress to TB disease which, if left untreated, will kill more than 50% of its victims. TB is one of the top four infectious killing diseases in the world: TB kills 1.7 million, and malaria kills 2-3 million.
HIV/AIDS, the neglect of TB control programs, and immigration have caused a resurgence of tuberculosis. Multiple drug resistant strains of TB (MDR-TB) and Extreme Drug-Resistance in Tuberculosis (XDR-TB) are emerging. The World Health Organization declared TB a global health emergency in 1993, and the Stop TB Partnership proposed a Global Plan to Stop Tuberculosis which aims to save an additional 14 million lives between 2006 and 2015.
2006-06-23 13:40:12
·
answer #2
·
answered by Anry 7
·
0⤊
0⤋
Tuberculosis (commonly abbreviated as TB) is an infection caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which most commonly affects the lungs (pulmonary TB) but can also affect the central nervous system (meningitis), lymphatic system, circulatory system (Miliary tuberculosis), genitourinary system, bones and joints.
Tuberculosis is one of the most deadly and common major infectious diseases today. As of 2004, 14.6 million people have active TB disease with nine million new cases of the disease and nearly two million deaths, [1] mostly in developing countries. However, developing countries are not the only places with tuberculosis. There is a rising number of people in the developed world who contract tuberculosis because they have compromised immune systems, typically as a result of immunosupressive drugs or HIV/AIDS. These people are at particular risk of tuberculosis infection and active tuberculosis disease.
2006-06-23 13:39:28
·
answer #3
·
answered by jqpaskmenow_ 02 3
·
0⤊
0⤋
TB is tuberculosis, a chronic infection caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It's usually transmitted by inhalation or ingestion of infected droplets (as when an actively infected person sneezes or coughs) and usually affects the lungs. It can be screened for by use of a Mantoux skin test, corroborated with a chest X-ray and confirmed with a sputum culture. What else do you want to know? Just ask me.
2006-06-23 13:44:28
·
answer #4
·
answered by TweetyBird 7
·
0⤊
0⤋
Tuberculosis commonly abbreviated as TB
2006-06-23 13:42:56
·
answer #5
·
answered by The Wanderer 6
·
0⤊
0⤋
erm TB is a disease but also if TB typed at the end of a text message then it means Text Back xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
2006-06-29 08:36:59
·
answer #6
·
answered by candypants 3
·
0⤊
0⤋
A bacterial infection,primarily affecting the lungs.
2006-06-23 16:45:42
·
answer #7
·
answered by Anonymous
·
0⤊
0⤋
tuberculosis and u hav an injection to preven u gettin the desises
2006-06-23 13:41:41
·
answer #8
·
answered by chanz 2
·
0⤊
0⤋
tuberculosis- a disease of the lungs and is contagious
2006-06-23 13:39:50
·
answer #9
·
answered by B Y 2
·
0⤊
0⤋
Basically a lung disease.
2006-06-23 13:48:59
·
answer #10
·
answered by Irish 7
·
0⤊
0⤋