Tuberculosis has been a severest health crisis for ages. In several reports of the World Health Organization, it has been indicated that about one-quarter of the world’s population suffers from tuberculosis. One of the studies by WHO states that TB is among the top 10 causes of death worldwide. But the gruelling question for us is how to protect ourselves from the menace of TB.

In India, the burden is no less as the rising TB cases here account for more than one-fourth of the global number. Hence, it becomes imperative to understand the severity and the causes of this persistent health threat. Being a serious health concern that may turn fatal in some cases needs to be addressed properly. This article brings all the necessary information about the disease and how one can prevent it in one place.

How Is Tuberculosis Contracted?

When you come in contact with someone who has TB, the bacteria can likely enter your body through the air. The TB-carrying bacteria is carried in airborne particles and the infectious droplets aggravate the chances of being corrupted by the disease. These particles are generated when a person who has pulmonary TB disease, coughs, sneezes, sings or even talks.

As the transmission occurs, the bacteria travel through the nasal passages to reach the lungs. When the bacteria, Mycobacterium Tuberculosis enters your body, either the body immediately kills it, leaving no risk factors, or the bacteria remains alive inside the body. If Mtb lives in one’s body without any signs or symptoms, the disease is called Latent Tuberculosis (TB).

People who have latent TB cannot transmit it to others. It is also important to remember that, M. tuberculosis is transmitted only through the air and not by surface contact. This bacterium can, however, spread inside your body at any point of time in your life, especially when your immunity is low, and that leads to an active tuberculosis condition.

How Is Tuberculosis Diagnosed?

Diagnosing a person having tuberculosis is quite a challenge. This is primarily because in the case of latent TB, where there are no symptoms, it is unlikely to get detected by a doctor. Modern medical science brings forward certain tests that help detect the presence of TB bacteria in the human body. The Mantoux tuberculin skin test (TST) or the TB blood test can be used to test for M. tuberculosis infection. TB skin test involves a process in which a TB bacteria solution is injected into the forearm of the patient to see any changes in the skin layer. There are other TB blood tests and sputum sample tests too that help determine if the patient has tuberculosis. Demographic factors are also taken into account to determine the patient’s risk for exposure to TB.

What should you do to prevent TB?

Nurturing a healthy immune system is understandably the best preventive measure against TB. If you know someone who has tuberculosis, provide essential care to them while being extra cautious to prevent an infection. You can use masks, sanitisers and other measures for this. If detecting latent TB is possible before it turns into an active condition, you can prevent the development of active TB to a great extent.

Additionally, if you are someone with a likely low immunity, have an underlying HIV condition, or are undergoing treatments like dialysis or TNF, it is always wiser to seek preventive treatment for TB. In this direction, an expert physician can guide you through this treatment and create a suitable regimen for you as per your needs.

Way Forward Towards Prevention

Tuberculosis is a disease that can affect anyone irrespective of age, geography or any other criteria. However, it is more likely that a person with low immunity will get infected. Hence, making your body healthy and taking measures to improve your immunity goes a long way toward preventing the disease.

To prevent the disease, we need to ensure that we don’t come in contact with a person suffering from TB as it increases the chances of infection. By applying appropriate preventive measures in our daily lives with the right kind of information about TB prevention, we can protect ourselves and the ones around us against this global threat – TB.