Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis is an infectious disease that mainly affects the lungs but can also involve other organs. Tuberculosis is often called TB and was called consumption in the past. This disease once ranked among the most common causes of death in the world. Today, improved methods of prevention, detection, diagnosis, and treatment have greatly reduced both the number of people who get the disease and the number of people who die from it. However, tuberculosis remains a major concern in developing countries where these improved methods are not widely available.

Tuberculosis strikes people of all ages but is more common among the elderly. Other people at greater risk of getting tuberculosis include those with weakened immune systems, such as AIDS patients, and people suffering from malnutrition. The disease can also afflict animals, especially such livestock as cattle, hogs, and poultry. The disease is caused by rod-shaped bacteria called tubercle bacilli. The German physician Robert Koch discovered tubercle bacilli in 1882. Tubercle bacilli belong to a genus (group) of bacteria called Mycobacterium. They are aerobes - that is, they must have oxygen to live.

How tuberculosis affects the body.

In most cases, a person becomes infected with tubercle bacilli by inhaling tiny droplets of moisture that contain Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria. These droplets form when a person with tuberculosis coughs or sneezes. Infection also can result from eating food contaminated with the bacteria or from drinking milk from cattle infected with Mycobacterium bovis bacteria. Such infection rarely occurs in developed countries, where milk is pasteurized and animals are routinely tested for diseases.

	consumption	туберкульоз легень (застар.)
	to rank	класифікувати
	detection	виявлення
	available	доступний
	to strike	вражати (про хворобу)
	weakened immune system	ослаблений імунна система
	to suffer	страждати
	malnutrition	недоїдання
	livestock	свійська тварина
	contaminated	забруднений
	to inhale	вдихати
	droplet	краплина

Diagnosis of tuberculosis

Physicians use several methods to detect tuberculosis. The chief methods are skin tests, chest X-rays, and laboratory tests.

Skin tests can determine if a person has been infected with tubercle bacilli in the past. However, such tests do not tell the physician whether the active disease is present. All types of skin tests are based on specific allergic reactions to the tubercle bacilli. The body develops the allergy to the bacilli within a few weeks after the primary infection.

Chest X rays may reveal tubercles or other signs of tuberculosis in the lungs. Chest X rays are usually done after a skin test has indicated a previous infection. However, chest X rays done for other reasons sometimes reveal the presence of tubercles.

Laboratory tests are normally the final step in the diagnosis of tuberculosis. A physician examines the patient’s sputum under a microscope to determine if bacilli are present. If bacilli are present, they are cultured (grown in laboratory dishes or test tubes). Culturing determines if they are M. tuberculosis or other bacilli. It also helps find out which drugs will be most effective against the bacteria.

Treatment of tuberculosis

The first effective treatment for tuberculosis was provided by health resorts called sanitariums. Sanitariums were developed during the later 1800’s by physicians in Europe and the United States. At a sanitarium patients received bed rest, fresh air, and mild exercise. They also were isolated from the general public and thus kept from infecting other people. Sanitarium treatment helped many tuberculosis patients overcome the disease. However, most of them had to spend months or even years in a sanitarium before they recovered.

Today almost all tuberculosis patients can be treated successfully with drugs. Isoniazid (INH) is one of the most effective antituberculosis drugs. Other include rifampin, ethambutol, streptomycin, and pyrazinamide. These drugs stop the bacteria from multiplying in the body. They also allow the body’s natural defenses to work against the disease. Doctors frequently prescribe two or more drugs at a time because tubercle bacilli may become resistant to only one medication.

	chest X-ray	рентген грудної клітки
	to determine	визначати, встановлювати
	primary infection	первинне інфікування
	to reveal	відкривати, виявляти
	health resorts	оздоровчі курорти
	to recover	видужувати
	to resist	чинити опір, протистояти
	sputum	слина, харкотиння
	to overcome the disease	подолати хворобу
	natural defense	природній захист
	to multiply	розмножуватися