Today is World TB Day. TB is the 13th leading cause of death worldwide, surpassing HIV and becoming the second most contagious killer worldwide after COVID-19!
This "killer" is caused by the bacteria "Tuberculosis bacillus", which often infects the lungs, which spreads from person to person through the air and only needs to inhale a small amount of these bacteria to become infected. About a quarter of the world's population is infected with MYCObacterium, but they have not yet developed the disease and do not cause transmission, but they are at risk of tuberculosis.
Tuberculosis is preventable and treatable. Global efforts to combat TB have saved some 66 million lives since 2000.
However, the outbreak has set back years of progress in ending TB. In 2020, tb deaths increased for the first time in more than a decade, with a total of 1.5 million deaths from TB.
How do we know if we are at risk of infection? What are the symptoms or diagnostics of tuberculosis? How can we take steps to protect ourselves?
The main information of this article:
People at higher risk of developing TB
Symptoms and diagnosis of tuberculosis
Preventive treatment of tuberculosis
It is estimated that about a quarter of the world's population is infected with TB, but not everyone infected will develop the disease.
If you belong to one of the following groups, the incidence of tuberculosis will be higher:
A close contact of a TB patient
People living with AIDS
Patients with pneumoconiosis
Patients undergoing dialysis treatment
Prepare to receive tissue or organ transplants
Long-term use of immunosuppressants
Healthcare workers
Supervision of place personnel
Drug users
