People Can Spread Tuberculosis Bacteria Through Their Breathing

A tuberculous infection is generally caused by the Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria. The most common place to detect tuberculosis is the lungs, but the disease can affect other areas of the body as well. Many cases of tuberculosis are latent, in which case it is called latent tuberculosis.

Around 11% of latent infections develop into active diseases, which, if left untreated, can kill up to half of all victims. An active TB patient exhibits chronic coughing with blood-tinted mucus, fever, night sweats, and loss of weight. 

People Can Spread Tuberculosis Bacteria Through Their Breathing

Though TB is considered an outdated ailment for which several treatment options are available, it must not be taken lightly. A study has shown that the bacteria from an infected person can spread in the air when he breathes.

Historically, this condition was called consumption because of weight loss. A variety of symptoms can result from an infection of other organs.

People Can Spread Tuberculosis Bacteria Through Their Breathing

As a result of the coughing, spitting, or sneezing of people with active tuberculosis in their lungs, the disease can be spread from person to person. Latent TB does not spread from person to person. HIV/AIDS sufferers and smokers are more likely to acquire an active infection. 

X-rays of the chest and microscopic examination of bodily fluids are required for diagnoses of active TB. Tuberculin skin testing (TST) and blood tests are used for diagnosing latent TB.

Recent research from a major conference on Tuesday suggests that coughing alone is not enough to spread the bacteria that cause tuberculosis. The evidence could force medical authorities to reconsider decades of containment strategies focusing solely on coughing.

39 people with tuberculosis were measured by the University of Cape Town’s laboratory with state-of-the-art equipment using Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb).

Researchers found that all three breathing methods released aerosols with the bacteria after five minutes.

Mtb was found to be three times higher in coughing than in breathing, yet simply exhaling is thought to be responsible for over 91% of airborne Mtb.

There are an estimated 1.5 million deaths caused by tuberculosis each year around the world, making it the world’s leading infectious killer. The COVID-19 virus has recently overtaken tuberculosis as the world’s number one killer.

As with COVID, tuberculosis can also be transmitted without symptoms-giving rise to the misconception that it is primarily spread by those who show symptoms.

The University of Alberta’s Ryan Dinkele believes that the new findings may explain why treating and testing only patients who have tuberculosis but do not feel sick enough to seek treatment is not enough to prevent the spread of the disease.

A number of transmissions could occur before seeking treatment for MTB; he told AFP. One alternative would be to find those already afflicted rather than wait for tuberculosis sufferers to seek medical attention.

He said it is extremely challenging for the transmission to occur without symptoms, however.

In the study, which has not been peer-reviewed, he says aerosols are more appropriate for determining whether someone is infectious than sputum or phlegm, which is traditionally used to diagnose tuberculosis.

About one-quarter of the world’s population is infected with TB bacteria, but only 5 to 15 percent of these people become ill with it. Most of the infected people reside in low- and middle-income countries. Identifying early spreaders and improving air safety is essential to stopping the disease from spreading, Dinkel noted.

Increasing airflow, filtration, and sterilization in buildings to reduce the risk of spreading diseases to uninfected individuals is considered a significant change in behavior. The implication is that poorer countries will be handicapped in implementing such changes, he said.

Historically, coughing has been known as a symptom of tuberculosis since ancient times, and coughing facilitates disease transmission.

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