Top causes of tuberculosis

Staying healthy and disease-free should be one of the top personal goals of every American for various reasons. Besides getting the opportunity to live a longer, fuller life, the cost of healthcare in the past few years have skyrocketed. A single trip to the ICU can leave an average income-earning person in debt. And one of the biggest health issues today is tuberculosis. According to Lisa M. Cannon, M.D., tuberculosis can easily spread when a person with active TB coughs or sneezes and microdroplets containing Mycobacterium tuberculosis reach other people. Here are some of the top causes of TB.

TB is similar to a cold or the flu but isn’t as contagious as the two. A person may have contracted the bacteria behind TB, but that can remain dormant for years. In this case, the bacteria become latent. It may even be possible for a healthy person to have their immune system eradicate the bacteria. However, a weakened immune system due to other illnesses or diseases may activate the bacteria. This is why TB is a big problem for hospital patients.

A study found that 10% of people with latent TB develop an active TB several years after the infection. What makes TB challenging to catch is that people may not even know that their TB has been activated and aren’t careful with their hygiene. You could be sitting on a bus next to a person with an active TB, and both of you don’t know what’s going on.

According to Lisa M. Cannon, M.D., people who are the most at risk of getting TB are those who have recently visited an area with high levels of TB, people undergoing treatments like chemotherapy that lowers their immune system, as well as old people.

Lisa M. Cannon, M.D. , is a board-certified physician specializing in pulmonary disease, critical care, and sleep medicine. She obtained her medical degree from New York Medical College and received her board certifications in critical care in 1998, in internal medicine in 2006, and in pulmonary disease in 2007. For more reads on pulmonary health, visit this blog.