Created by broadwayluvr55 on Mar 15, 2011
Last updated: 03/31/11 at 04:39 PM
Overview - An infections disease caused by tubercle bacillus, Mycobacterium tuberculosis - The bacillus spreads into the lungs, which cause hard nodules, or tubercles, to form and break down the respiratory tissues and form lung cavities - Blood vessels can also be affected, which can cause an infected person to cough up blood - During the 18th and 19th century, tuberculosis almost reached an epidemic, as it urbanized and industrialized European and North American societies - Used to be called "consumption" - Was the leading cause of death from the 18th and 19th centuries until the early 20th century - Since the 1940's, antibiotics have decreased the span of treatment to months compared to years TB in Today's World - TB is still a fatal disease in today's less-developed countries - TB has increased with the association of HIV/AIDS, as an estimated one in four deaths from TB are related to HIV/AIDS About the disease - The tubercle bacillus is a small, rod-shaped bacterium that is extremely hardy - It can survive for months in a state of dryness and can also resist the action of mild disinfectants - Infection is spread by the respiratory system when an infected person discharged live bacilli into the air by sneezing, coughing, etc. - The bacilli then becomes trapped in the tissues in the body, are surrounded by immune cells, and then are sealed in nodular tubercles - A tubercle contains a center of death cells and tissues - Tubercular lesions may spread extensively in the lung, causing large areas of destruction, cavities, and scarring - Once the bacilli are deep in the tissue, an infected person has a lifelong immunity to the disease - Latent tubercluosis: a person is not infected, but still have the disease - In some cases, the original tubercles break down, which causes still-live bacilli to go into the bloodstream, and create new tissue infections. This causes a condition known as pulmonary tuberculosis, which is a highly infectious stage of the disease. - Once the bacilli enter the bloodstream, they can travel to almost any organ of the body, including the lymph nodes, bones and joints, skin, intestines, genital organs, kidneys, and bladder. Diagnosis - TB is diagnosed by finding tubercle bacilli in the sputum, the urine, gastric washings, or in cerebrospinal flupid - The primary method used to diagnose the disease is by doing a sputum smear, where a sputum specimen is smeared onto a slide - If bacilli are found, then the smear is cultured to see if the bacilli is M. tuberculosis
- Leading disease in the 19th century - Led to one-sixth of all deaths in 1838 - By 1900, TB was the most common cause of death -TB led to half of all deaths in women between ages 15 - 35 - Was called comsumption - Patients suffering from the disease survived from a few months to a few years before they died - Rest and having a healthy diet helped to slow the disease - People who couldn't afford medicine took long sea voyages or moved to warmer climates, such as Italy, Egypt, California, and the South Seas - Scrofula was another form of the disease. Scrofula was detected by a patient having swollen glands or skin ulcers - Bacillus that caused TB was discovered in 1882
An immunization is a process where people are inoculated in resistance to disease. Immunizations allow for immunity to certain pathogens that could harm the body.
- A serious, contagious, and sometimes fatal infectious disease that has no specific treatment - Spread by direct and fairly prolonged face-to-face contact, as well as through direct contact with infected bodily fluids or contaminated objects such as bedding or clothing - Smallpox is caused by the variola virus that emerged in human populations thousands of years ago - Only prevention is vaccination - There is no specific treatment for smallpox disease, and the only prevention is vaccination - The pox part of smallpox is derived from the Latin word for “spotted” and refers to the raised bumps that appear on the face and body of an infected person - Two types are variola major and variola minor - Variola major: severe and most common form of smallpox, with a more extensive rash and higher fever 4 types of variola major: 1. Ordinary (the most frequent type, accounting for 90% or more of cases) 2. Modified (mild and occurring in previously vaccinated persons) 3.Flat. Usually fatal. 4. Hemorrhagic (both rare and very severe). Usually fatal. - Variola minor is a less common presentation of smallpox, and a much less severe disease, with death rates historically of 1% or less - The last case of smallpox in the United States was in 1949. The last naturally occurring case in the world was in Somalia in 1977. After the disease was eliminated from the world, routine vaccination against smallpox among the general public was stopped because it was no longer necessary for prevention
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