Tuberculosis has many forms that can invade the body. Many cures involve drugs and multiple combinations of the drugs. Drugs are used in combinations because tuberculosis can travel to different parts of the body. One of the causes for the spread of tuberculosis around the world is the emergence drug- resistance strain. Tuberculosis can become resistant to most, if not all, of the drugs that are used to treat tuberculosis.
Tuberculosis is a bacteria infection that affects many people over the world. Treatment for the disease helps people but it is limited. Vaccination is sought but, like treatment, is limited. Because of these limitations Tuberculosis spreads and kills easily. Tuberculosis can be cured by constant drug therapy.
Tuberculosis is a bacteria infection that affects many people over the world. Treatment for the disease helps people but it is limited. Vaccination is sought but, like treatment, is limited. Because of these limitations Tuberculosis spreads and kills easily. Tuberculosis can be cured by constant drug therapy.
One of the first steps to treating Tuberculosis is identifying which form has developed in the body. The two forms that could progress in the body are latent Tuberculosis infection and active Tuberculosis infection (CDC, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports). Latent Tuberculosis is the dormant form of the bacteria, meaning that it is inactive and doesn’t cause an infectious reaction in the body. Even if the latent form enters the body, treatment should be sought (CDC, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports). Latent Tuberculosis can become active Tuberculosis easily though, especially if the immune system is compromised by another infection, like HIV (CDC, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports). Active Tuberculosis infects the body immediately. Symptoms show in the body meaning the bacteria is effecting the cells of the body. Identifying the form is important because treatment is dependent upon it. Testing for TB involves a skin test, usually within seven work-days of contact with the bacteria. Without knowing what is in the body, the drugs won’t be as effective and might even cause drug-resistance.
After diagnosing which form is in the body, treatment and therapy can begin. After the test, an infected person should inform the health-care provider with information about other people that might be infected. This will help control the spread of Tuberculosis (CDC, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports). Treatment for the infected person means continual drug therapy.
Treatment for active Tuberculosis and latent Tuberculosis is usually similar because both forms of the bacteria invade multiple environments of the body. Tuberculosis originates in the lungs, because it enters through air, and sometimes spreads to other organs, called extrapulmonary Tuberculosis (World Health Organization19). But within those organs and lungs bacteria resides in three basic areas for drugs to attack (Friedman 115). Bacteria can be in extracellular organisms, extracellular material that do spurts of activity, and in acidic environments of macrophages (Friedman 115). Each drug acts differently within the environments, killing the bacteria in different ways.
Most programs have multiple steps or phases, involving multiple drugs. There are usually two phases: initial and continual. Initial is to handle the bacteria immediately and keep it from spreading, and continual is to handle the bacteria for a longer term (NetDoctor, Travel Help). In the two phases, certain drugs are used because of their method of killing the bacteria. The top five drugs are Isoniazid, Rifampicin, Pyrazinamide, Ethambutol, and Streptomycin (NetDoctor, Travel Help).
Isoniazid’s method of destroying the bacteria is unknown, but there are thoughts into what it does. Isoniazid interferes with the bacteria’s ability to make mycolic acids, which are needed to form the cell wall (Rimactazid 300). Without the cell wall, the bacteria can’t survive and multiply. This particular drug is used though both the initial and continual phases. Isoniazid can attack the extracellular organisms that grow quickly inside the cavity walls the best (NetDoctor, Isoniazid). Unfortunately, there is a drug-resistant strain to Isoniazid, making it useless when that strain is the infecting bacteria (NetDoctor, Isoniazid). Sometimes the bacteria can become immune to Isoniazid when a person stops taking the medication before the treatment is completed.
Rifampicin is another of the five drugs used to fight Tuberculosis. Rifampicin is an antibiotic that can target and cease RNA- polymerase in the cell, enabling it from replication (NetDoctor, Rifadin). This drug usually works with Isoniazid because both are used in the initial and continuation phases and affect the cell in similar ways, but they coordinate in different areas in the body. Rifampicin is most adequate in the extracellular material that does activity in spurts (Friedman 115). Rifampicin can act the fastest against and handle the spurts of the extracellular material (Friedman 115).
Pyrazinamide also works with Rifampicin and Isoniazid, but only in the initial phase (NetDoctor, Rifater). These three drugs work together to destroy the cell. Pyrazinamide sets off a chain of chemical reactions when it enters the cell so it kills itself (NetDoctor, Rifater). This drug can manage more acidic environments, meaning it can enter the macrophages and kill them (Friedman 115). Attacking and killing the macrophages is important because the macrophages go to the lymph nodes and can spread throughout the body.
Ethambutol is another drug that is used as an antibiotic in the initial phase (NetDoctor, Ethambutol). This drug is different from the other initial phase drugs because it doesn’t kill the bacteria. Instead it keeps it from growing by inferring with the cell from within. Because it can’t grow, the bacteria can’t multiply, stopping the spread of the bacteria through the body (NetDoctor, Ethambutol).
The fifth drug in treatment is Streptomycin. This antibiotic doesn’t act like any of the other four because it kills the bacterium cell indirectly. This drug attaches to certain components of the bacterium cell, which causes the cell to produce abnormal proteins (NetDoctor, Streptomycin Sulphate). Without the correct protein, the survival of the bacterium is impossible. These five drugs are the most prominent treatment for Tuberculosis, but there are other drugs that are used. Most treatments include up to nine different drugs to get to all parts of the body.
Drug-resistance is a major problem for the treatment of Tuberculosis. Even though drug-resistance is a gene mutation of the bacteria, certain incidences by people allow the bacteria to mutate and spread (World Health Organization 4). Those incidences include problems with health-care providers, drugs, and patient’s drug intake (World Health Organization 5). Health-care providers need to follow the regimens, monitor treatment, and ensure the credibility of the guidelines of the treatment. If the drugs are going to be effective, they need to be provided for as well. Storage, quantity, and quality of the medication enable the product to work correctly and provide the health-care provider with the best care possible. Patient drug-intake also feeds the drug-resistance Tuberculosis infection. The patient’s ability to use and understand the importance of the treatment also effects drug-resistance, especially in low-income situations. Transportation, money, and substance abuse keeps many patients from getting continual care required for Tuberculosis. Because of thi,s the drug-resistant strain can spread or active Tuberculosis can mutate (World Health Organization 5). Unfortunately drug-resistance can only be determined by in vitro, meaning it takes longer to identify and treat the strain, giving it more time to spread (World Health Organization 18).
One of the ways to stop Tuberculosis is to find vaccines. For Tuberculosis currently, there are several vaccines (Schlossberg 117). These vaccines reduce the risk of getting the disease and death but they aren’t assured. Most of the vaccines have a zero to eighty percent chance of being effective (Schlossberg 117). Out of the several vaccines, there is only one that is used, on a global scale, in immunization programs: Mycobacterium bovis (Schlossberg 117). Mycobacterium bovis is a live vaccine that is usually given to infants in countries with epidemics (Schlossberg 117). But this vaccine is like the others and has limitations. Like the others, it only has a zero to eighty percent chance of providing immunity. This is because it was originally developed for animals (Schlossberg 117). Not many countries have access to the vaccine. Also the countries in need of the vaccine can’t provide the people with a way to get it.
Tuberculosis is a serious disease that kills thousands of people over the world. Treatment for tuberculosis is almost impossible in several countries because of its long regimen course and costly price. One third of the population of the world is infected with tuberculosis each year (World health Organization, Factsheet). But what is most disturbing about this disease is that a cure for it hasn’t been found yet. People survive but the drugs aren’t certain. The most prominent way of spreading this disease is drug-resistance, which happens because of human interference in the treatment of infective people. For this reason it is essential that people who might be subject to this disease receive medical attention and help control the spread of tuberculosis.
