TUBERCULOSIS: AN OVERVIEW

Tuberculosis or commonly called TB is a bacterial illness that typically targets our lungs. It can also infect some other parts of the body like the spinal cord and brain. It is caused by a bacterial species known as Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB). In the pulmonary infection which is the most common one, the patient suffers from cold and flu like symptoms and can spread the infection through micro droplets expelled during speaking coughing and sneezing. It is a highly infectious disease and is diagnosed with sampling/culturing of bodily fluids. In some cases, patients showed symptoms but it may not be suffered from TB infection, known as latent tuberculosis. Roughly 10 percent of active diseases emerge from latent infections, which, if untreated, cause the death of about 50% of those who are infected. Chronic cough with blood-coloured sputum, fever, excessive sweating, and loss of weight are classic indicators of active TB. Because the condition is linked to weight loss, it was formerly referred to as consumption. In this study, we give the overall view of TB in terms of its signs and symptoms, transmission, pathogenesis, diagnosis, and prevention.