- Location
- Grantsville, Utah
Every year, tuberculosis (TB) — a life-threatening infection that primarily affects the lungs — kills nearly 2 million people worldwide. Experts at the World Health Organization (WHO) predict these numbers will escalate in coming decades. Approximately 2 billion people — one-third of the human population — are currently infected with TB, with one new infection occurring every second.
TB has plagued human beings for millennia. Signs of tubercular damage have been found in Egyptian mummies and in bones dating back at least 5,000 years. Today, despite advances in treatment, TB is a global pandemic, fueled by the spread of HIV/AIDS, poverty, a lack of health services and the emergence of drug-resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium that causes the disease.
TB spreads through airborne droplets when a person with the infection coughs, talks or sneezes. In general, you need prolonged exposure to an infected person before becoming infected yourself. Even then, you may not develop symptoms of the disease. Although your body harbors the TB bacteria, your immune system often can prevent you from becoming sick. For that reason, doctors make a distinction between:
TB infection. This condition causes no symptoms and isn't contagious.
Active TB. This condition makes you sick and can spread to others.
If left untreated, active TB can be fatal. With proper care, however, most cases of TB can be treated, even those resistant to the drugs commonly used against the disease. Unfortunately, the world's poor — those most likely to have TB — are also the least likely to receive adequate medical care.
TB has plagued human beings for millennia. Signs of tubercular damage have been found in Egyptian mummies and in bones dating back at least 5,000 years. Today, despite advances in treatment, TB is a global pandemic, fueled by the spread of HIV/AIDS, poverty, a lack of health services and the emergence of drug-resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium that causes the disease.
TB spreads through airborne droplets when a person with the infection coughs, talks or sneezes. In general, you need prolonged exposure to an infected person before becoming infected yourself. Even then, you may not develop symptoms of the disease. Although your body harbors the TB bacteria, your immune system often can prevent you from becoming sick. For that reason, doctors make a distinction between:
TB infection. This condition causes no symptoms and isn't contagious.
Active TB. This condition makes you sick and can spread to others.
If left untreated, active TB can be fatal. With proper care, however, most cases of TB can be treated, even those resistant to the drugs commonly used against the disease. Unfortunately, the world's poor — those most likely to have TB — are also the least likely to receive adequate medical care.
