Tuberculosis Disease Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Tuberculosis Disease - Essay Example In the same vein, elderly people are seen as vulnerable victims due to failing immune system (Landau, 1995). According to research, in their early years, carriers already had the bacterium in them but the development is slow and manifesting lately in their older years. The nature of the disease can take years to become active, so an older person may have acquired the disease earlier in their life, but the bacterium can be active in the latter years (Landau, 1995). Pathophysiology. TB is a disease caused by germs that could be transmitted from person to person via airborne droplets that is infected with the Mycobacterium. The bacteria when inhaled travels directly to the alveoli through respiration (Landau, 1995). Inhaling the droplets via airborne from the person infected with TB by other person standing close to the carrier will surely make the person the new TB bacteria carrier. The belief that TB is transmittable by contact with a person's clothing, bed linens, or dishes and cooking utensils was voided of by recently-conducted research, stating that the bacteria can be acquired via direct contact (Landau, 1995). Signs and Symptoms. The most common symptom of the pulmonary tuberculosis is the persistent cough. ... In the United States the statistics data of TB declined. Since 1993, the number of cases of the TB patients reached to the lowest point according to the study conducted by University of Wisconsin in 2003 due to the recent medicinal discovery (Todar, 2005). Impact on community. Studies showed that ten to fifteen million Americans are carriers of inactive tubercle bacilli in their bodies, until it gradually develops in their later years. In the conventional setting of everyday human interactive, the possibility to transmit the bacteria from one person to another is very high (Landau, 1995). Less than ten percent of people who acquired the tubercle bacillus through inhaling the agent, however, become ill. The rest of the percentage shows no development of symptoms. In this case, it is said that the disease is inactive even when bacilli are stored in cells (Landau, 1995). When one person in the family is a carrier of tubercle bacilli or Mycobacterium tuberculosis, it is more likely that the whole family is inflicted with inactive bacterium. Upon social interaction in the community, the family could also transmit to other people the disease nesting upon them (Hyde, 1994). History shows evidence that this disease can affect society, as the break down of TB during 1700's to 1800's that caused the "white plague" among many countries. This suggests that it could wipe out even the whole community if prevention and awareness are not readily made available (Hyde, 1994). Prevention and risk factors. Awareness and education about TB is one of the most effective prevention measures of this disease. Sanitation in dwelling places including the air to breathe and taking up appropriate medicinal