Assalam-o-Alaikum!

I hope all the readers are good. Tuberculosis is an infectious disease. In 2022 and 2023, the government of Punjab commenced an end TB program. That program helped many people to diagnose their Tuberculosis. I was also a member of that team to whom the function of TB diagnosis was assigned. Facts revealed that people living in villages are more victims of TB compared to those who live in cities. Let's understand the reason behind this matter.

✅ 1. What is Tuberculosis (TB)?

Tuberculosis

| |---| Tuberculosis or TB is a chronic infectious disease that affects the lungs badly and it is cast by mycobacterium tuberculosis. It is a common disease. and also called as a global health concern. ######

Origin of the word Tuberculosis

The word tuberculosis is the combination of two Latin-origin words, tuber and culosis. In Latin, tuber means lump, swelling, or bump. Whereas,culosis means a condition or a disease. So collectively, it is a medical condition in which human lungs swell and affect their normal functioning.

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Origin of Tuberculosis disease

This disease was even found in a 9,000-year-old skeleton found in the Eastern Mediterranean, which showed that it is the earliest disease that affected human health.

|How it Happens?| |---|

In this disease, humans unknowingly inhale bacteria that reach the alveoli of the lungs, where they perform their pathogenic activities and then attack o-cells, which form granulomas and spread their infection.

|Types of Tuberculosis| |---|

TB has two types. Latent TB and Active TB. ######

Latent TB

Usually, this is the kind of tuberculosis in which the bacteria remain dormant. And person has no symptoms and no infection until the activity of the bacteria.

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Active TB

Active TB is that kind of TB which is reported because in this, the particular bacterium or virus becomes active and spreads the disease. All latent tuberculosis can turn into active tuberculosis due to the activity of pathogens.

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Risk Factors for Activation

* HIV/AIDS * Malnutrition * Immunosuppressive therapy (e.g., steroids, TNF-alpha inhibitors) * Diabetes mellitus * Smoking and alcohol use * Silicosis or other chronic lung disease |![Hormon (5).png](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmf2V7h35jxRjPyC8aAzorjGBukN9d4YVc9SM7JzerU5D5/Hormon%20(5).png)| |---| ^{Image from [Canva](canva.com)}

✅ 2. What are the three common symptoms of TB? Explain it.

Common symptoms are listed below. |

1. Chronic Cough

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The first and the most common symptom of tuberculosis is the onset of cough, which lasts from tys to three to four weeks. The reason behind this cuff is Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Because when this bacterium is inhaled, it reaches to alveoli and then bacilli, which are engulfed by macrophages, and mycolic acid-rich walls are produced, which causes a cough in our throat. And as the reaction or activities of the bacterium keep on increasing, the duration and intensity of the cuff keep on increasing.

Moreover, cuff blocks the airway, which causes irritation and inflammation, and it produces sputum of a yellow color with an unpleasant taste.

2. Fever (especially low-grade, evening rise)

| |---|

The second most common sign of tuberculosis or TB is fever or pyrexia.

This happens because of the immune response of tubulochorosis infection, which releases pro-inflammatory cytokines. And it triggers paroxysmal activity in our human body.

Fever in TB is topically low-grade. It never reaches a high temperature. Usually, it occurs in the evening. And the main pattern which has been noticed in tuberculosis patients is the evening rise of temperature, which means when the evening dark comes, the patient may experience a gradual fever, headache, and fatigue due to that fever.

3. Weight Loss (and general fatigue)

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The patient of tuberculosis feels weight loss because TB also affects our catabolic metabolism in which the body breaks down fat into the muscles, and during this response, the tuberculosis pathogens affect appetite, which causes weight loss, and this white loss rises day by day.

The biological causes behind this weight loss, cytokines like TNF alpha, also suppress appetite and increase our metabolic rate. The suppression of appetite leads to high white blood cell loss in the human body.

|![Hormon (8).png](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmPNQkskoJj5QmtxsE7v5LExB2pxAeJRdAPLZNdLorHst9/Hormon%20(8).png)| |---| ^{Image from [Canva](canva.com)}

✅ 3. How does TB affect our lives?

1. Physical Impact

| |---|

In its physical impacts. Lung damage occurs due to tuberculosis, and it progressively continues to destroy. For a reference, I want to tell you that the lungs are the most delicate part of the human body for any infection.

In tuberculosis, the chronic lung damage may result in long-term respiratory infections, which may lead to death.

2. Psychological and Emotional Impact

| |---|

The long-term treatments of tuberculosis between 6 to 24 months can cause emotional breakdown, leading to mental health issues like depression.

According to a research institution in Europe, most of the person who treat their tuberculosis for a long time are also found in Europe. Depression occurs during their treatment because the depression is painful during this disease, and the person becomes a victim of social stigma.

3. Social Consequences

| |---|

This effect of tuberculosis is unfortunate because many young women who face tuberculosis may also face marital rejection, or this disease may also reduce their marriage prospects.

Moreover, many students drop out many students. Employees lost their jobs, many other people face disturbance in their social relations because of their long chairwhich disturb most people, especially if they are working in any public place.

Therefore, a social consequence of this disease also sometimes causes depression.

4. Economic Impact

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It requires a long time treatment. As I explained, 6 to 24 months are required. And during this time, a lot of economic resources are used to treat the person. If a patient afford the treatment, this impact might not affect him.

But most of the people who have. Tuberculosis in their lungs is found among those who belong to poor families, because it is also known as the disease of the poor.

Therefore, economic impact leads to a poverty cycle while the treatment of this disease.

5. Public Health Burden

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Tuberculosis is highly infectious and when the patient moves to the public place and if someone knows about his disease, most of the people avoid him, avoid to make good relations with him, avoid to sit with him, sit to talk with him for hours or minutes.

Overall, they avoid that person, which also adds a new issue in his life.

6. Mortality

| |---|

Often, this disease proves fatal in developing countries like Pakistan.

According to the World Health Organization, TB kills over a million people each year in the world, and many cases are also reported in Pakistan for this disease.

The overall conclusion is that this disease impacts our lives hard. Therefore, we should pray to Allah Almighty for the prevention of this disease.

|![Hormon (2).gif](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmcZbohzauer1ekc4ziHVc4xXxuubAiQtuconhh2Pb8W6x/Hormon%20(2).gif)| |---| ^{Image from [Canva](canva.com)}

✅ 4. What kind of challenge do TB patients face during treatment?

1. Long Duration of Treatment

| |---|

The standard treatment for drug lasts us up to six months on average, but for a third or fourth stage tuberculosis.

It may last up to 24 months. This long treatment requires a lot of patience because regular medicines are taken, including toxic drugs.

2. Side Effects of Anti-TB Drugs

| |---|

The medicine of patients take during tuberculosis contains toxic anti-tuberculosis drugs.

There are some medicines listed below with treatment as well as their side effects.

| **Drug** | **Main Side Effect** | |----------------------|----------------------------| | Isoniazid (INH) | **Neuropathy 🧠** | | Rifampicin | **Discoloration 🟥** | | Pyrazinamide | **Hyperuricemia 🦵** | | Ethambutol | **Blindness 👁️** | | Second-line drugs | **Toxicity ☠️** | |

3. Psychological Burden and Stigma

| |---|

The science of psychology explains that if a person treats themselves for such a fatal disease, then there are high chances for a person to lose psychological balance.

As I have already explained that many people become the victim of another disease, depression, anxiety, or low self-esteem. The time of life and death seems to be the same, and sometimes they live their life with no hope.

4. Economic Strain

| |---|

Economic burden is also faced by the patient as well as the patient's family, because tuberculosis treatments are highly expensive, which leads to economic pressure or economic strains on that particular individual.

5. Access to Quality Care

| |---|

The person or patient also faces a hurdle in access to quality care. Because if the patient belongs to any rural area or any underdevelopment area, then there is are high chance for the person to have no access to quality care.

Because such areas have wide of. Best medical cares.

|![Hormon (6).png](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmbZnUYaF1G7ZdYXCdGAyTWgmGw38bqjVy8DRt4cpGyZYV/Hormon%20(6).png)| |---| ^{Image from [Canva](canva.com)} ![DiHLrjiPetHt6ciV9azim9NPHuTMQ59H51nYE8xqo83cHxoWjkEXJT9iFny5FDK6V87zhnX5kJcSGE6ahn1RouZuijdX8aHZSZuNzNLrHLCesrYQeLFEN3XWqtzgugDvKSjLVorzHmsDV9fsCYARi3rzgEWfrvmwA657nCqYe5UwnnVK4Dxytu7ugFVW.png](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmfAkUqGw5uy1jNmTcb68ECgENHtdXjHrr83YSaNXr9hjW/DiHLrjiPetHt6ciV9azim9NPHuTMQ59H51nYE8xqo83cHxoWjkEXJT9iFny5FDK6V87zhnX5kJcSGE6ahn1RouZuijdX8aHZSZuNzNLrHLCesrYQeLFEN3XWqtzgugDvKSjLVorzHmsDV9fsCYARi3rzgEWfrvmwA657nCqYe5UwnnVK4Dxytu7ugFVW.png) |

Closing Remarks

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I hope you will find this contest as a source of information. I pay thanks to @ahsansharif for this contest. All of us need to understand the severity of diseases to understand the emotional intelligence of patients' conditions. I would like to invite @iqrabatool34, @mohammadfaisal, and @ajmadsharif to join this contest.