Tuberculosis

 

Tuberculosis

The Tuberculosis (abbreviated TB or TB, so named from the Würzburg clinician Johann Lukas Schönlein because of Latin Tuberculosis's characteristic histopathological image, from Latin tubercle, small tumor ') is a cosmopolitan bacterial infectious disease. The disease is caused by various mycobacteria species ( Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex causes) and infects humans as pulmonary tuberculosis, most commonly the lungs. Immunodeficiency is also increasingly evident outside of the lungs.

 

Tuberculosis, which affects around 10 million people worldwide every year, leads the global statistics of fatal infectious diseases. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) Global tuberculosis report, around 1.4 million people died of tuberculosis in 2015. Also, there were 400,000 deaths from additional  HIV- infected people. Tuberculosis is most often caused (at least now in Germany) by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, less often - in descending order - by Mycobacterium Bovis, Mycobacterium africanum, or Mycobacterium microti.

 

The description of the pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis by Robert Koch in 1882 was a milestone in medical history. Tuberculosis is therefore also called Koch's disease. The terms consumption ( Phthisis or Phthise ) or colloquially the moths, white plague, and white death are out of date.

 

Only around five to ten percent of those infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis become ill in their lives; people with a weakened immune system or genetic susceptibility are significantly affected. The transmission usually occurs through droplet infection of sick people in the area. If germs are detectable in the sputum, one speaks of open tuberculosis, and if germs are detected in other external body secretions, it is referred to as potentially available tuberculosis. Coughing creates an infectious aerosol that loses its infectivity through sedimentation, ventilation, and natural UV light sources. Because cattle can also contract tuberculosis ( unpasteurized ), raw milk used to be a widespread infection source in Western Europe and is still in parts of the world today. Because it can be transferred from animals to humans, tuberculosis is one of the zoonoses. Conversely, the transmission from humans to animals is an essential aspect of the conservation of rare primates.

 

Only with the direct detection of the pathogen or its genetic material is the disease confirmed by laboratory diagnostics—indirect, d. H. Immunological findings or skin tests only contribute to the diagnosis, as they cannot distinguish between a disease and a previous infection. They can turn out to be falsely negative if the immune system has broken down.

 

Various antibiotics are available for treatment, mainly effective against mycobacteria, and are also called antituberculosis. To avoid the development of resistance and relapses, these must be taken in combination and following the WHO's guidelines for at least six months, i.e., well beyond the existence of the symptoms. There is a vaccination, but it has not been recommended in Germany since 1998 due to insufficient effectiveness and is no longer available. A primary prophylaxis Germany uses an anti-tubercular drug primarily recommended for children or contact persons with severe immunological impairments. In adults who have an intact immune system (and are therefore referred to as immunocompetent ), on the other hand, secondary prophylaxis or prevention only takes place after an infection has been determined using preventive administration of anti-tuberculous drugs, taking into account the resistance situation. Tuberculosis is subject to registration by name in the European Union and most of the world.

 webtechradar