| Tuberculosis is caused by the Mycobacterium | | | | last as long as few years. A person cannot get the |
| tuberculosis bacteria. The disease usually affects the | | | | disease by touching or shaking hands with an |
| lungs but it can also affect any organ of the body | | | | infected person. The only way to get the disease is |
| like the bones or heart. Earlier, before the discovery | | | | to breathe the air when you are close to the |
| of antibiotics, the disease was more popularly known | | | | infected person; and inhaling a small number of |
| as consumption as there was no treatment and | | | | bacteria can cause the disease. |
| people suffering from the disease would just waste | | | | There is one form of the disease which a person can |
| away and die. However, today there are many | | | | get by drinking unpasteurized milk. This form of the |
| antibiotics available to treat people and most recover | | | | disease is caused by Mycobacterium bovis bacteria. |
| without any problems. | | | | Earlier, this was the main cause of the disease among |
| So, how does a person get tuberculosis? The | | | | children but now it rarely occurs because most milk is |
| bacteria that are responsible for the disease are | | | | pasteurized. |
| released into the air when an infected person coughs, | | | | If a person suffering from tuberculosis does seek |
| sneezes, spits or shouts. These airborne bacteria are | | | | medical help and treatment, he is bound to infect 10 |
| then inhaled by uninfected people who are close by | | | | to 15 people each year. However, it is not necessary |
| or in the vicinity. On inhalation of the bacteria, the | | | | that a person infected with the Mycobacterium will |
| disease sets in after an incubation period, which can | | | | fall sick with the disease. |