Tuberculosis: The Disease We Should Still Be Concerned About.

31 Jul Tuberculosis: The Disease We Should Still Be Concerned About.

While Tuberculosis (TB) might not be making daily headlines as it once used to, it remains a serious public health threat around the world. In fact, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), TB is the leading infectious killer globally.

Tuberculosis is a contagious disease spread through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes. While it primarily affects the lungs, it can also affect other organs, such as the kidneys, spine, and brain.

A very interesting fact about the disease – The bacteria that causes tuberculosis (Mycobacterium Tuberculosis) can remain dormant in the body for years before becoming active, which could be fatal if not treated. 

Symptoms of Tuberculosis

The symptoms of tuberculosis do not appear overnight but take time sometimes over months. Some of the common symptoms include:

1. Cough that lasts more than three weeks
2. Feeling of tiredness and exhaustion
3. Weight loss
4. Night sweats
5. Fever

How Common is Tuberculosis?

Statistics show that two third of the total number of Tuberculosis cases come from 8 countries, of which Nigeria ranks 6th amongst them with over 467,000 cases in 2021.

But there is some good news.

According to a Dataphyte Report on TB, in 2015, 39.96 percent of those infected with Tuberculosis died of the disease. However, the proportion declined steadily from that point up to 2021 when 467,000 cases and 125,000 deaths were reported. This gave a death-to-infection rate of 26.77 percent. This means TB isn’t as lethal as it once was, and that prevention and treatment works.

Tuberculosis can occur primarily in two forms – latent TB infection and active TB disease. Latent TB infection simply means the bacteria are present in the body but are not causing symptoms or spreading to others. It can be tricky because the infected person doesn’t show any symptoms of TB at this stage (due to a strong immune system defence keeping the disease spread in check) except when they get tested.

In the active stage, however, bacteria are active and multiplying in the body. The infected person begins to show symptoms like cough, bloody sputum night sweats, with a high risk of spreading the infection. This is the stage where treatment should start. People with low immunity (such as people living with HIV/AIDS) tend to reach this stage quickly and are much more prone to death due to TB-HIV co-infection.

While it’s common knowledge that tuberculosis is mainly caused when we come in contact with an infected person, there are also other factors that put people at risk of the disease such as low immunity (people living with HIV/AIDS), smoking, and air pollution.

Getting a diagnosis of Tuberculosis requires a thorough symptom history, blood tests, and imaging studies like chest X-rays or CT scans. These tests help health care providers determine whether an individual has been infected with TB and whether the infection is active or latent.

Treatment for TB is available, and the disease is curable. No one should be dying of TB in 2024. TB treatment typically involves a combination of antibiotics taken over several months. It’s important to adhere to the prescribed treatment regimen and complete the full course of antibiotics to ensure successful recovery and prevent the development of drug- resistant strains of TB.

We Can End the TB Scourge Through Prevention.

Preventing tuberculosis requires a multiple treatment approach, which includes vaccination, infection control measures, and screening programs. 

1. Administration of Bacillus Calmette- Guérin (BCG) vaccine offers some protection against severe forms of TB, particularly in children. BCG must be administered at birth.
2. Patients with latent TB should be treated to avoid developing active TB.
   
3. People with active TB must begin and complete their antibiotic medications to prevent the rise of drug-resistant TB.
4. Improving living conditions, promoting good hygiene practices, identifying, and treating latent TB infections can help reduce the spread of the disease.

In 2024, Tuberculosis remains a significant global health challenge, particularly in low- and middle- income countries like Nigeria.

Other simple steps you can take to prevent the spread of TB are:

1. Practice good cough etiquette: Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze.
2. Maintain good ventilation: Open windows and doors to ensure fresh air circulation in your home or workplace.
3. Get tested if you’re at high risk: If you have a weakened immune system or have been in close contact with someone with TB, talk to your doctor about getting tested.

We all have a role to play to end the TB scourge by raising awareness and taking preventive measures. That way, we can end the reign of TB as the leading infectious disease killer and global health threat.