Tuberculosis- Overview

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the world's deadliest communicable diseases. TB is an airborne infectious disease caused by organisms of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex. Although primarily a pulmonary pathogen, M. tuberculosis can cause disease in almost any part of the body. Infection with M. tuberculosis can evolve from containment in the host, in which the bacteria are isolated within granulomas (latent TB infection), to a contagious state, in which the patient will show symptoms that can include cough, fever, night sweats and weight loss. Only active pulmonary TB is contagious. In many low-income and middle-income countries, TB continues to be a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Although several TB diagnostics have been developed, including skin test, sputum test, chest x-ray etc. Treatment usually requires a prolonged course of multiple antimicrobials, stimulating efforts to develop shorter drug regimens. TB requires at least six months of treatment. If treatment is incomplete, patients may not be cured and drug resistance may develop. Directly Observed Therapy (DOT) is a specific strategy, endorsed by the World Health Organization, to improve adherence by requiring health workers, community volunteers or family members to observe and record patients taking each dose. The final goal is to minimize the risk of TB in India and evaluate as to what extent the National TB Control program is being implemented and extent of its effectiveness.
Key words: Tuberculosis (TB), Multi-drug resistant (MDR-TB), Directly Observed Therapy (DOT), Extensively-drug resistant (XDR-TB), Revised National Tuberculosis Programme (RNTCP)