Tuberculosis

Running Head : Tuberculosis

Creating a Cure for Tuberculosis

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Creating a Cure for Tuberculosis

Introduction

With advancements that have been made in medicine and medical technology , it is surprising to realize that up to this day , there are still many diseases that continue to plague humankind with the same adversity as it did centuries before . One such disease is Tuberculosis or TB . In this , a brief overview on the history of how TB was contracted by humans and where it originated , as well

as the development of a cure and vaccine against this disease will be discussed . Because tuberculosis remains to be a leading cause of death all over the world the will also discuss as to despite on the creation of a vaccine against TB , deaths still occur and whether the possibility to create TB is feasible in to minimize , if not eradicate , TB in the world today

of TB

Tuberculosis is an airborne disease . This means that people can get infected with tuberculosis when someone already infected with this disease when the latter coughs , sneezes , or even talks . Tuberculosis is one of the world 's leading causes of death and of the global burden of diseases which is mostly rampant among developing countries particularly where poor nutrition and over-crowded places become ideal for other illnesses to infect the individuals who resided in that region which resulted in the weakening of the individual 's immune system Today , it remains to be one of the world 's leading causes of deaths 8 million deaths in a year attributed to this disease with about one-third of the world 's population infected (Broekmans , Caines Paluzzi 2005 Daniel 1999 Feng , Iannelli Milner 2002 Offit Bell 2003 Reichman Tanne 2002

Although tuberculosis has always been considered as a pulmonary disease , there are times that the tuberculosis bacteria can spread other parts of the individual 's body . One area is the skeletal system Tuberculosis bacteria cause the formation of abscess and other deformities on the skeletal system such as Pott 's disease where the individual becomes a hunchback . Tuberculosis also infects other organs such as the individuals ' lymph nodes located below the ears where draining sores called scrofula develop . Tuberculosis can also destroy the gastrointestinal tract resulting in the individual having frequent and unpredictable diarrhea (Reichman Tanne 2002

History of TB and the BCG Vaccine

Tuberculosis first infected humans approximately 8 ,000 to 10 ,000 years ago

During this period , humans have begun to settle down into communities whose livelihood included tending of cattle . Because humans and cattle lived near from each other , farmers and their families had come into contact with a bacterium called Mycobacterium bovis from cows in the air and through the infected cows ' milk . This bacterium settled into the lungs of humans as well as in the different organs . Over time , this bacterium mutated into what is now called Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Broekmans , Caines Paluzzi 2005 Offit Bell 2003 Reichman Tanne 2002...