Acute and Chronic Disease Reports
Open Access

Different Stages and Diagnosis of Tuberculosis

Stephen John^{* *}Correspondence: Dr. Stephen John, Department of Pulmonary and Critical Medicine, Oregon Health and Sciences University, Portland, USA, Email:

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Description

Mycobacterium Tuberculosis (MT) commonly causes the contagious disease tuberculosis. It mainly affects the lungs, TB can impair other body organs as well. TB present in 2 stages Latent and Active. Latent TB is the name for an infection that is undetected. Nearly 50% of patients with active disease, which results from about 10% of latent infections, pass away if untreated. The common symptoms of active TB include a persistent cough with blood colored mucus, fever, night sweats and weight loss. The disease was formerly known as consumption due to its link to weight loss. Infection in different organs can cause a range of symptoms. Patients with active TB in their lungs coughs, spits, speaks, or sneezes, the disease can spread via the air to other people. Carriers of latent TB do not spread the disease. Smokers and those with HIV/AIDS are more likely to get infected actively. Active TB is diagnosed by chest X-rays, microscopic examination, and culture of body fluids. Latent and ActiveTB is diagnosed through blood testing or the Tuberculin Skin Test (TST).

Stages of TB are as follows

Latent/dormant tuberculosis: The TB virus can reside in your body without making you ill. An infection with latent TB is what it is. The body is typically able to resist the bacteria and stop the infection from spreading when TB germs are inhaled and an infection ensues. Patients with latent TB infections: You don't feel sick and lack any symptoms. The TB bacterium cannot be spread to other people. Usually show up positive on a TB skin test or in a TB blood test. People might become ill with TB if they do not receive therapy for latent TB infection. Many people who have latent TB infection never show signs of TB disease. These patients will carry dormant TB bacteria without becoming ill. But in some people, especially those with compromised immune systems.

Active tuberculosis: People with active tuberculosis are infected by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which mostly affects the lungs but can potentially affect other systems. The World Health Organization estimates that 8 million people worldwide have active tuberculosis each year, and that about 2 million people die from the illness. Tuberculosis patients have a lifetime risk of developing an active infection. Although for the majority of patients, the disease does not become active for several years after infection, the likelihood of developing active tuberculosis is highest in the first year after infection. This exercise highlights the role of inter professional team in the diagnosis and management of patients with active tuberculosis and also gives an overview of its assessment and management.

Diagnosis

TB was brought on by a bacterial infection. Pulmonary TB, the most contagious type of TB, typically only spreads after extensive contact with an infected person. The immune system, the body's natural defense against infection and disease, eliminates the germs in the majority of healthy persons, and no symptoms appear. The immune system occasionally has the ability to limit the spread of bacteria even when it is unable to completely destroy it. Despite the fact that you won't show any symptoms, the bacteria will still in the body. Patients with latent tuberculosis are not spreadable to others. If the immune system is unable to get rid of or contain the infection, it could spread to the lungs or other parts of the body. Within a few weeks or months, symptoms will appear. Latent/ dormant tuberculosis may eventually turn into active TB, particularly if immune system is weak. The two types of tests used to discover TB germs in the body are the TB Skin Test (TST) and TB blood testing. A positive TB skin test or TB blood test only reveals the presence of the TB bacteria. It is unable to tell if someone has an advanced case of TB or a Latent TB Infection (LTBI). A chest xray and a sputum sample are two additional tests needed to evaluate whether a person has TB illness.

If a person has TB germs in their system, additional tests are needed to identify whether they have latent TB infection or TB illness.