Why is tuberculosis such a serious disease today?

Answer 1

In recent years many strains of bacteria have become more virulent. This is due, in large part, to the prescribing of antibiotics. One may ask, I thought antibiotics kill bacteria. This is true, but to understand how this works, we must delve a little deeper.

Nature has given every organism on the earth defense mechanisms for survival. With people, it is our immune system. With bacteria, it is the principle of a bacteriophage. Bacteriophages are chemical compouds secreted by bacteria to fight off colonies of other competing bacteria. Hence the term anti + biotic or literally, against bacteria. All the original bacteria used to make antibiotics were taken from soil bacteria, grown as a pure culture and the compouds extracted and manufactured. This worked great at first. People were cured of illnesses that had had no cures before. But, the problems we face now are really twofold. First, all the really easy antibiotics have been made and second, the bacteria that we want to kill have become resistant through adaptation. This really is evolution happening in front of our eyes.

There is another problem that has made matters worse. It is the over prescribing of antibiotics when their use was not required. We have all gone to the doctor for a bad cold (which is a virus) and received a presciption for an antibiotic (which have no effect on viruses). This has speeded up the adaptation of bacteria because of their over use. The same is true when animals have a constant supply of antibiotics added to their food to prevent dieases. This allows a constant supply of the drugs inserted in the food chain and eventually into our bodies.I am not saying do not take antibiotics if you are sick. I am saying don't take them unless you really need them. Now back to the question.

A strain of TB has developed that is resistant to almost all antibiotics currently available. There is a period of about six weeks in which to start a series of drugs or there is basically no hope. The mortality rate of this strain is 50%. Not only that, it is extremely contagious. It appears that the strain originated in Central Asia and infected many men in Russian prisons. Due to the lack of medical care in these prisons, it has made a jailbreak and is heading out into the general population of the world. As of this date , May 29,2007, a person who was infected with this strain, boarded an airliner in possibly Europe, (details are still sketchy) and flew to Canada and then the United States. He has been placed in quarantine and officials are actively searching for the people that he flew with. If this strain gets into the general population, it will be worse than anything we have been talking about, including the bird flu.

Answer 2

According to what i have been reading over the last few days....the cure rate with modern day antibiotics is 90-95 %...the lymph gland TB is the milder version and not so contagious

Answer 3

Because it spreads itself to other places like the larynx, bones and joints, the lymphatic ganglia, intestines, kidneys and the nervous system. All of these elements of the body are vital!

Answer 4

its infectious and you can die of it