How Tuberculosis Affects The Body

Tuberculosis (TB) is a transmittable and often severe airborne disease, an infection caused by a bacteria known as Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). TB usually affects the lungs, but it also can affect any other organ of the body. It is usually treatable with a scheduled routine of medicine taken for 6 months to 2 years, the length of treatment is conditional on the type and severity of the infection ( WHO. October 2015). This usually happens when a person breathes in the contaminated air, in which inhaled TB bacteria make their way to the lungs. The immune system cannot stop the bacteria from growing and spreading after the initial infection.

People that immune systems that are weaker, tend to be at a greater risk for developing TB. When they breathe in TB bacteria, the bacteria settles in their lungs and start growing because their immune systems cannot fight the bacteria. Tuberculosis can develop within days or weeks after being exposed. However, it is possible for it to develop months or maybe even years after being infected, at a time when the immune system becomes weak for other reasons and is no longer able to fight the bacteria. (Bennett, Raphael 2010)

Within the lungs TB moves through the blood to settle in different parts of the body. Some symptoms of TB includes coughing, loss of weight and appetite, fever, chills and night sweats as well as symptoms from the specific organ or system that has been affected. Tuberculosis usually can be cured with speedy and correct treatment, but it remains a key cause of death and disability, particularly among people infected with HIV (World Health Organization