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Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, [7] is a contagious disease usually caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) bacteria. [1] Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. [1]
Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb), also known as Koch's bacillus, is a species of pathogenic bacteria in the family Mycobacteriaceae and the causative agent of tuberculosis. [1] [2] First discovered in 1882 by Robert Koch, M. tuberculosis has an unusual, waxy coating on its cell surface primarily due to the presence of mycolic acid.
Treatment of active TB disease is typically a combination of antibiotics, which results in patients being non-infectious to others usually within a few weeks. Until that point, though, patients can spread TB to others and it’s typically adults with reactivated TB that are the most infectious.
Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the most common cause of both pulmonary tuberculosis and tuberculous lymphadenitis. [1] [6] Historically, transmission of Mycobacterium bovis from dairy consumption was another frequent cause of tuberculous lymphadenitis, but incidence has drastically decreased in developed countries since the advent of pasteurization and other efforts to prevent bovine ...
An infectious disease agent can be transmitted in two ways: as horizontal disease agent transmission from one individual to another in the same generation (peers in the same age group) [3] by either direct contact (licking, touching, biting), or indirect contact through air – cough or sneeze (vectors or fomites that allow the transmission of the agent causing the disease without physical ...
Tuberculosis can also spread through the blood from the primary focus to elsewhere in the abdomen. Abdominal solid organs, kidneys, lymph nodes and peritoneum can be affected this way. [ 2 ] Tuberculosis is also reported to spread to the peritoneum directly from adjacently situated infected foci, such as from the fallopian tubes, adnexa, psoas ...
Some infectious diseases can be spread via respiratory droplets expelled from the mouth and nose, as when a person sneezes. A respiratory droplet is a small aqueous droplet produced by exhalation, consisting of saliva or mucus and other matter derived from respiratory tract surfaces. Respiratory droplets are produced naturally as a result of ...
Bacteria enter the body through inhalation and are ingested by white blood cells called macrophages. [1] Surviving bacteria multiply and can spread to other areas of the body. This can occur through the lymphatic system , blood, or via direct spread from infected tissues.