People in India and around the globe are mostly under the impression that Tuberculosis (TB) can only affect the lungs and no other organs in our bodies. If that is your preconceived notion of the disease, you need to learn more about the different organs that Mycobacterium Tuberculosis can infect. It’s true that TB most commonly affects the lungs – which is the body’s pulmonary system. However, the manifestations of TB involve other organs including the central nervous system. 

Reports suggest that extrapulmonary TB accounts for over 14% of the total TB cases recorded globally. The majority of Tuberculosis patients indeed suffer from pulmonary (related to the lungs) tuberculosis, which gives birth to the misconception that tuberculosis can only be pulmonary, while the truth is that there are several different kinds of extrapulmonary tuberculosis (other than those related to lungs) that one must be aware of. 

Pulmonary VS Extrapulmonary Tuberculosis

The word Pulmonary is the biological term for anything related to the lungs. Consequently, tuberculosis of the lungs is called pulmonary tuberculosis. The reason why all the other kinds of tuberculosis are categorized under the head ‘extrapulmonary’ is that pulmonary tuberculosis is the most common form of TB that the majority of patients suffer from, and the only kind of TB that is most infectious. Pulmonary TB spreads through the water droplets containing the bacteria that an infected patient releases while coughing. 

Extrapulmonary Tuberculosis refers to tuberculosis of any organ other than the lungs. The most common extrapulmonary tuberculosis includes the TB of the pleura, abdomen, lymph nodes, joints and bones, genitourinary tract, skin, or meninges. A key point to note about extrapulmonary TB is that, unlike pulmonary TB, extrapulmonary TB is not infectious, implying that it cannot spread from person to person. Extrapulmonary TB is more common in patients infected with HIV and in such cases, it becomes crucial to weigh all the risk factors involved. A matter of concern regarding the EPTB is that the diagnosis in this case is challenging as the symptoms of pulmonary TB are not present and it goes undetected. 

How to protect yourself from Extrapulmonary Tuberculosis?

Extrapulmonary tuberculosis generally occurs when the TB bacteria come in contact with the bloodstream of a healthy individual. Once it comes in contact with the bloodstream, it can reach any organ of the body and infect it. Especially, if the immune system of the person is not strong enough, there is a high chance that the person may be infected. The immune system can be weak for various reasons: due to unhealthy eating habits, regular smoking, drug abuse, lack of exposure to countries that have a significant number of TB cases, or diseases like HIV and diabetes, which lower the strength of the immune system.

Before knowing the preventive measures, one must know that extrapulmonary tuberculosis can also be spread by a patient suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis. If you come in close contact with a person suffering from TB of the lungs, and you inhale the bacteria released by them in the air through cough, the bacteria can infect any organ of the body once it reaches the bloodstream. As it happens, it has been observed that in some patients, Mtb escapes to another part of the body from the lungs and as the defence mechanism of the body fails, the bacteria multiply rapidly and damage the organ in no time. Hence, it becomes critical to know the methods of protection and prevention against Tuberculosis bacteria.

A few tips to protect yourself from Extrapulmonary TB:

• Eat a healthy diet for a stronger immune system: A balanced and healthy diet ensures healthy immunity. A diet that is rich in Vitamin C strengthens the immune system. A person with a strong immune response is much more likely to evade the bacteria in comparison to a person with very low immunity. If the immune system is strong, the infection can be suppressed in its latent stage.

• Maintain proper ventilation: A place with decent ventilation is more likely to hold off the TB bacteria for a long time in comparison to poorly ventilated premises. If you have any TB patients around, or in the neighbourhood, make sure that your house stays ventilated and make sure you follow the preventive measures.

• Wear masks: If you’re suffering from a disease that significantly lowers your immunity, make sure to wear a mask in crowded areas like parks, public transport, movie theatres, restaurants, malls, and most importantly, hospitals. If you know a TB patient or there is a TB patient in the neighbourhood, wear a mask when around them to reduce the chances of catching the infection. 

• Consult your doctor: If you’re a person with low immunity or you stay near a TB patient, ask your doctor for any preventive drugs, immunization, or any other preventive measures that your doctor might recommend.