• Cause of tuberculosis
• Symptoms of tuberculosis
• Risk factors for tuberculosis
• Treatment of tuberculosis

Tuberculosis is a very serious infectious disease caused by a Gram variable bacterium, Mycobacterium Tubercolosis , otherwise known as Koch’s bacillus after its discoverer. 

Tuberculosis is transmitted by air via droplets of saliva that can be emitted with a cough , a sneeze, or even just speaking at close range. Today this disease remains a leading cause of death worldwide , particularly in poor countries.

Cause of tuberculosis 

TB is due to Mycobacterium Tubercolosis , an aerobic, non-encapsulated bacterium, positive for Gram stain once identified in the laboratory but not always, because it responds to some characteristics related to its cell wall .

The latter is in fact mainly made up of lipids , such as fatty acids, waxes and phosphates, divided into different layers.  This peculiarity makes the growth of bacterial replication rather slow. The bacterium is resistant to acids and alcohol, detergents, disinfectants, drying, antigens and even antibiotics.

Koch’s bacillus typically develops its infectious form in the lungs , but it can also reach other areas such as bones , eyes , brain , kidneys , skin , circulatory system and lymphatic system.

In the case of pulmonary tuberculosis, the bacterium insinuates itself into the alveoli , where it implements its strategies to survive the complex defense mechanisms of macrophages and replicate.

The immune system is thus stimulated with the activation of T lymphocytes and macrophages. Tubercle-shaped granulomas are formed which have the function of creating a barrier against the spread of the pathogen in the rest of the body . Koch’s bacilli thus remain trapped and can be inactivated. 

Symptoms of tuberculosis

There is a form of inactive tuberculosis (or tuberculous infection) in which one comes into contact with the bacilli, which however are immediately countered by the immune system. He heals without aftermath, without special therapies but also without developing symptoms . However, the bacteria remain in the body , but in a latent condition that does not cause contagion.

Active tuberculosis (or tuberculous disease), on the other hand, is highly transmissible and leads to the appearance of very serious symptoms: 

> weight loss and lack of appetite ;

> fever ;

> night sweats;

> fatigue ;

> persistent cough with hemoptysis (presence of blood in the sputum);

chest pain when breathing.

Risk factors for tuberculosis

This pathology is insidious for anyone, but there are subjects who are more at risk  because they are affected by other pathologies that involve the delicate and complex mechanisms of the immune system. This category includes  diabetics, autoimmune people, immunosuppressed  people or those who have to resort to immunosuppressive drugs.

Even those who spend long periods of time in closed and overcrowded spaces , not exposed to direct light or air changes, can be particularly exposed .

Treatment of tuberculosis

Tuberculosis can be cured through a complex of drugs whose active ingredients work synergistically. Given the recurrence of the disease, remission times can be very long (even beyond 18 months). Despite the great progress made by scientific research, in fact, the disease can develop resistance and be very difficult to eradicate. 

Prevention is entrusted to a vaccine called BCG vaccine, obtained from strains of Mycobacterium Bovis .