India has set a target of eradicating tuberculosis (tuberculosis) by 2025. The government had allocated Rs 3,400 crore for this work in FY 2023. From today, treatment for the Tuberculosis is free in all government hospitals and patients also receive Rs 1,000 every month for healthy food during treatment. However, after recent data from the World Health Organization (WHO), the path to this goal seems difficult.

The World Health Organization recently stated in a report that more than 80,000,000 cases of tuberculosis have been detected worldwide in 2023. What is worrying is that the WHO has started tracking this phenomenon at starting in 1995 and since then, this is the highest number of TB cases recorded in a year.

These figures are very worrying for India because, despite the eradication campaign, 25% of global tuberculosis cases are recorded in India alone. A total of 25 lakh 37 thousand cases of tuberculosis were recorded in India in 2023. While at the start of the year 2022, around 24 lakh 22 thousand cases were reported.

Around 12 lakh 50,000 people are expected to die due to tuberculosis in 2023 worldwide. While in India, more than 3 lakh 20 thousand people died due to tuberculosis in 2023.

That’s why today in “Sehatnama” we will talk about tuberculosis. You will also learn that-

Why and how is this disease spread? Why is tuberculosis a deadly disease? What are the treatment and prevention measures for tuberculosis?

What is tuberculosis or tuberculosis?

Tuberculosis is an infectious disease. Its bacteria usually affect lung tissues. However, it can sometimes also affect other organs like the spinal cord, brain or kidneys.

Why does tuberculosis appear?

Tuberculosis is caused by a bacteria called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. These bacteria spread through the air and usually infect the lungs. Tuberculosis is certainly an infectious disease, but it does not spread very easily. When a person spends a lot of time with an infected person, they can also become affected by this disease.

How is tuberculosis spread?

Germs released from the mouth of a person infected with TB when they cough, sneeze, talk, sing, or even laugh can infect people nearby. Only people with active tuberculosis are contagious.

Its uniqueness is that if bacteria enters the body through our breathing, most people’s bodies are able to fight these bacteria and prevent them from growing. The bacteria remain inactive in these people’s bodies. However, they remain alive in the body and can become active at any time later. This is called latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) or latent tuberculosis. If these people’s immune systems subsequently weaken, these bacteria then become active and attack.

What are the symptoms of tuberculosis?

People whose TB is not active have no symptoms. However, if these people are tested for TB, the disease can be detected.

People with active TB may have many symptoms. See the graph:

These are common symptoms of tuberculosis, usually appearing when the lungs become infected. If other organs are also affected by tuberculosis, other symptoms may also appear for this reason:

If the kidneys are affected by tuberculosis, there may be blood in the urine and kidney function may deteriorate. If TB affects the spinal cord, there may be pain and stiffness in the back and muscle spasms. If tuberculosis spreads to the brain, nausea. and vomiting may occur. Confusion persists and loss of consciousness may occur.

What types of tests are done to diagnose tuberculosis?

There are two types of screening tests to detect tuberculosis. Mantoux tuberculin skin test (TCT) and blood test. In these, skin and blood tests are carried out.

If a person tests positive during screening, damage to the lungs caused by tuberculosis is detected. Treatment depends on the level of lung damage and whether the tuberculosis is active or not.

For this the following tests are carried out:

Laboratory tests of chest computed tomography of sputum and lung fluid (CT-Scan)

What is the treatment for tuberculosis?

When active TB is diagnosed, a combination of medications should usually be taken for 6 to 9 months. If treatment is not completed, there is a high chance that the TB infection will return. The biggest danger is that if the infection returns, the medications given during the previous treatment will become ineffective this time. It is therefore very important to follow anti-tuberculosis treatment to the end.

What to do if you want to avoid tuberculosis infection?

Dr. Shivani Swami says if you want to avoid TB infection, keep your immunity strong and eat a nutrient-rich diet. If the immune system is strong, our body deactivates the tuberculosis bacteria.

Immunity is also important because many people have latent TB and when immunity is low, TB bacteria can become active. If the immune system remains strong, these bacteria will not become active.

What can you do to stop the spread of TB?

If you live near an infected person, wash your hands thoroughly and frequently. Wear a mask and get tested for tuberculosis occasionally.

If a person has tuberculosis, they can do the following:

Cover your mouth with your elbow when you cough. Avoid very close contact with other people. Make sure you take all your medications regularly. Do not go to work or school without your doctor’s permission. people, so wear a mask. The most important measure to prevent tuberculosis infection is adequate ventilation. Do not stay in a dark room and keep the room’s windows open.

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