Tuberculosis is not a new disease. It was counted as one of the deadly diseases in the past. Now, there are many medications and regimens for different stages of TB. The research team is in the process of finding better treatment for tuberculosis resistance patients. Due to the advancement in the treatment process, TB is not deadly. One who doesn’t get proper treatment and proper medications can lose his life. Do you want to gain more information on Tuberculosis? We have brought detailed information on TB in this article. Let’s read it carefully to prevent disease. You can share information and save the lives of many people.
· What is Tuberculosis?
Tuberculosis is a chronic communicable disease. The disease is transmitted from one person to another through air droplets. It transmits while sneezing or coughing. The disease is seen in every part of the world. The number of active TB is major in developing countries than in developed countries. According to WHO, One-third of the world’s population is infected with TB and they have a 5 to 10 % chance of ill in their life.
· Causes
The causing agent of TB is Mycobacterium TB. It is caused when the causing agent transfers through the air medium. The other causing agents are
a. Mycobacterium leprae
b. Mycobacterium avium
· What are the symptoms of Tuberculosis?
People are infected with Tuberculosis. It shows its symptoms and its activeness when people are infected with HIV or other immune-related diseases. The symptoms of Tuberculosis are as follows.
1. Chest pain
2. Cough that lasts for more than a month
3. Reverse fever
4. Night sweats
5. Loss of appetite and weight loss
6. Blood in sputum or cough
· Diagnosis
To confirm the disease, TB is diagnosed by the following methods.
1. Skin test- The doctor will inject Protein derivative on your skin. Be careful as you can’t give access to water in your skin. After 48 or 72 hours, visit a doctor and confirm the test. If the injected part swells, you are infected with TB.
2. X-ray- It is done when skin and blood test gives a positive result. X-ray helps to find the infected part in the lungs.
3. Blood test- Blood is preserved under study. It verifies whether the TB is latent or active.
4. Sputum- Blood is seen along with sputum. The patient is suspected to be suffering from TB. The sputum test gives the presence or absence of bacterium.
The tests are helpful to design medication for individuals. Multi-drug resistant and normal medications are used for the treatment. The medication may depend on the individual.
· What are the treatments of Tuberculosis?
Tuberculosis was very dangerous till 1947. Many people died due to tuberculosis. After the discovery of Streptomycin, the number of death was reduced significantly. Other treatments are developed. Multi-drug resistant is in the process of developing. The treatments available for Tuberculosis are divided into first-line and second-line drugs. The drugs under them are listed below.
A. First-line drugs– The efficacy is high and toxicity is low. They are used commonly.
1. Isoniazid
2. Rifampin
3. Pyrazinamide
4. Ethambutol
5. Streptomycin
B. Second-line drugs– The efficacy is low and toxicity is high. It is used when first-line drugs don’t work.
1. Ethionamide
2. Cycloserine
3. Kanamycin
4. Capreomycin
5. Ciprofloxacin, Ofloxacin, levoflaxacin, moxifloxacin
6. Rifapentine, Rifabutin
Multi-drug resistant are made by combining first and second-line drugs.
· DOTS
The full form of DOTS is Directly Observed Short course Therapy. A DOT is an approved treatment procedure by World Health Organization. It is available in all Southeast Asian countries. The name suggests it is the direct observation of the patient’s regular medication and improvement. The entire regimen provided to the patient is recorded. The patient must visit health personnel regularly in a certain time interval. The treatment lasts for 6 months previously. Now, the time is reduced to 4 months with changes in the medicines to make it easy in the treatment.
· Is the treatment of Tuberculosis free in Nepal?
44,000 cases are recorded annually in Nepal. Almost 7,000 people died and 10,000 cases are not diagnosed properly. The treatment of TB is free in Nepal. However, the private clinics and hospitals may take some extra charge.
· Tuberculosis Hospital in Nepal
There is the National Tuberculosis Control center (NTCC). It is located in Thimi, Bhaktapur. The National TB Program (NTP) is run under NTCC. The main aim of NTP is to end tuberculosis by 2035 in Nepal. The free treatment is available in the health post.
People are dying due to Tuberculosis. Lots of people don’t know that there is free treatment for tuberculosis. Go to the nearest government health center to get benefits in the treatment procedure of Tuberculosis. Nepal is also providing free medication. Nepal provides BCG vaccines early in life to prevent harsh infections from TB. check govt official website of the health ministry in Nepal
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