| Tuberculosis, a bacterial infection, most commonly | | | | divides every 16 to 20 hours. This division is |
| affects the lungs. Tuberculosis can also affect the | | | | extremely slow when compared to other bacteria, |
| central nervous system, lymphatic system, circulatory | | | | which tend to have division times that are measured |
| system, genitourinary system, bones and joints. | | | | in minutes.In many patients the infection of |
| Often Called TB for short, tuberculosis is the most | | | | Tuberculosis waxes and wanes. Treatment with |
| common major infectious disease today. With that | | | | appropriate antibiotics kills bacteria and allows healing |
| title the virus is infecting two billion people which is | | | | to take place. Areas where Tuberculosis has affected |
| approximately one-third of the world's population. Nine | | | | will eventually be replaced by scar tissue. A complete |
| million new cases of active disease annually, resulting | | | | medical evaluation for Tuberculosis includes a medical |
| in two million deaths. Most of these cases and deaths | | | | history, a physical examination, a tuberculin skin test, |
| are in developing countries.Ninenty percent of those | | | | a serological test, a chest X-ray, and microbiologic |
| that are infected have asymptomatic latent TB | | | | smears and cultures. This is quite an extensive |
| infection (LTBI). This is alot of numbers: There is a | | | | procedure as you can see, but if you look at the |
| ten percent chance that in the lifetime of LTBI that it | | | | numbers above it is a necessary process.Feel free to |
| will progress to active TB disease. This active disease | | | | reprint this article as long as you keep the article, this |
| if left untreated, will kill more than fifty percent of its | | | | caption and author biography in tact with all |
| victims. All of these numbers make tuberculosis one | | | | hyperlinks. |
| of the top three infectious killing diseases in the | | | | |
| world. HIV/AIDS kills 3 million people each year, TB | | | | Ryan Fyfe is the owner and operator of |
| kills 2 million, and malaria kills 1 million.Tuberculosis is | | | | Tuberculosis Symptoms - which is the best site on |
| caused by a slow-growing aerobic bacterium that | | | | the internet for all tuberculosis related information. |