Tuberculosis
Context:
- According to a recent research one in two tuberculosis patients either has diabetes or prediabetes, that is every other TB patient has some sort of glucose metabolism disorder.
About TB:
- Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by a bacterium 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.
- Not everyone infected with TB bacteria becomes sick.
- As a result, two TB-related conditions exist: latent TB infection (LTBI) and TB disease.
- If not treated properly, TB disease can be fatal.
Spread of TB:
- TB bacteria spread through the air from one person to another.
- When a person with TB disease of the lungs or throat coughs, speaks, or sings, TB bacteria can get into the air.
- People nearby may breathe in these bacteria and become infected.
- When a person breathes in TB bacteria, the bacteria can settle in the lungs and begin to grow.
- From there, they can move through the blood to other parts of the body, such as the kidney, spine, and brain.
- TB disease in the lungs or throat can be infectious.
- This means that the bacteria can spread to other people.
- TB in other parts of the body, such as the kidney or spine, is usually not infectious.
- People with TB disease are most likely to spread it to people they spend time with every day.
- This includes family members, friends, and coworkers or schoolmates.
Signs and symptoms:
- Symptoms of TB disease depend on where in the body the TB bacteria are growing.
- TB bacteria usually grow in the lungs (pulmonary TB). TB disease in the lungs may cause symptoms such as:
- a bad cough that lasts 3 weeks or longer
- pain in the chest
- coughing up blood or sputum (phlegm from deep inside the lungs)
Other symptoms of TB disease are
- weakness or fatigue
- weight loss
- no appetite
- chills
- fever
- sweating at night
Symptoms of TB disease in other parts of the body depend on the area affected.
People who have latent TB infection
- do not feel sick,
- do not have any symptoms, and
- cannot spread TB to others.
- Lightning is an atmospheric electrical phenomenon and contributes to the global atmospheric electrical circuit.
- The three main kinds of lightning are distinguished by where they occur: either inside a single thundercloud (intra-cloud), between two clouds (cloud-to-cloud), or between a cloud and the ground (cloud-to-ground), in which case it is referred to as a lightning strike.
Syllabus: Prelims
