Tuberculosis Epidemiology
Name
Institutional affiliation
Tutor
Date
One of the deadliest communicable diseases, which brought the worst effects in the universe is Tuberculosis (TB). This is a bacterial disease that mainly affects the lungs. The disease is highly infectious because the bacterium which causes it can move from a TB patient to another person through liquid droplets. This process occurs when the patient sneezes or coughs. TB is a disease of concern because of its continuous spread across the world with adverse side effects, effects, and difficult mitigation measures. This paper deeply discusses TB’s causes, how it is transmitted from one person to another, its symptoms, and how it can be managed and treated. It also assesses the health determinants of this disease, epidemiologic train, and the responsibilities of public health concerning the disease.
The bacterium which causes TB is called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It mainly attacks the lungs of the patient. However, other body parts such as the kidney, the spinal cord, and the brain also risk an attack from the bacterium (World Health Organization, 2019). This makes the lung and the other organs too weak to perform their roles effectively. For instance, attacked lungs cannot properly filter in fresh oxygenated air and remove the body’s waste gases. This alteration weakens the general health and performance of the human body.
There are several ways in which TB gets transmitted from an infected person to another. One of the ways is through water microdroplets released into the air by a patient. The microdroplets carrying Mycobacterium tuberculosis are carried by air and attack other people upon landing on their skin (Holland et al., 2019). The microdroplets are released through processes which include coughing, sneezing, singing, speaking, and laughing. This means that TB can be easily transmitted to many people simultaneously more so when a TB patient is in-crowd.
This disease has varied signs and symptoms. At the onset, the patient feels endless chest pains culmination to difficulty in breathing. The chest pains are accompanied by fatigue, chills, and severe loss of appetite, which leads to loss of weight. According to Vesga et al. (2019), the TB patient coughs out blood at the advanced stages. This is as a result of the broken blood vessels within the lungs. Furthermore, the blood coughs last for a period of not less than three weeks. Additionally, they experience excess sweating at night and fever.
To explain further, TB exists in two conditions in the human beings body. A latent condition is when one already has the bacterium but in its inactive state. At this moment, there are no symptoms of the disease. Again, it cannot be transmitted to other people. A recent study by the World Health Organization (2019) reveals that over two billion people worldwide have this inactive form of TB. The second condition is called active TB. This condition proceeds from the latent TB if it is not treated at the right time. Unlike the latent TB, active tuberculosis can spread to others; show symptoms make one feel sick.
Treatment of Tuberculosis
There are various measures taken to manage and treat active TB. To manage it, doctors administer a therapy that will kill germs that might cause severe effects in case the disease becomes active. Vesga et al. (2019) argue that because it is a bacterial disease, the best way to treat it is by using antibacterial drugs for one year. Specifically, the administration of combined medication proves to be the best mitigation measure against TB. They suggest the use of a combination of Isoniazid INH, Rifampin, Ethambutol, and Pyrazinamide.
If TB stays for a long time in the body without being treated, it becomes resistant to drugs. This means that the bacterium will not respond to the drugs which initially treated it (Holland et al., 2019). Drug-resistant tuberculosis is very lethal and would require two and a half years to be completely treated. The efficiency of the drugs used in treating and managing the condition depends on how strict the patient follows the drug prescriptions. A TB patient should finish the dosage prescribed by the doctor as this would prevent the reoccurrence of the disease at a later date.
TB has complications such as joints and spinal pain, liver and kidney problems together with meningitis. The spinal pain causes widespread pain on the entire back. When the liver is attacked by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, its ability to filter wastes and purify blood becomes impaired. A similar scenario occurs in the kidney. Vesga et al. (2019) add that one of the most serious TB complications is the brain membrane’s swelling. When a patient experiences this, then they are at a high risk of feeling serious headaches and turning into mental cases. This can also lead to death.
Demographic
The World Health Organization in 2019 estimated the incidence of tuberculosis in the United States. It stated that the lowest incidence rate in the year 2019 was 1.4 cases per 50,000 persons. The organization also estimated the prevalence of the disease in the world. It established that over ten million people got infected with TB.
There have been misconceptions that TB is a disease for certain parts of the world, especially the developing countries like the one in Africa. However, Pourakbari et al. (2019) found out that one-third of the world population is suffering from TB infection. As for the mortality rate, they establish that one and a half million people die from the disease all over the world.
Determinants of Health affecting TB
There are social and economic determinants of TB infections. These factors have increased the chances of people getting infected by this disease. For example, poverty is one of the major determinants of this disease. It leads to poor living conditions characterized by low hygiene and inadequate ventilation, which create a fertile breeding ground for the disease.
Moreover, the biological and genetic factors also contribute to the high rate of TB outbreak in different countries. For instance, the disease is prevalent among children because of their weak immune systems and lack of knowledge in maintaining cleanliness (ODPHP, 2020).
The TB epidemiological trial has three pillars: the agent, susceptible host, and environmental factors. One is attacked by this disease when they contact microdroplets containing Mycobacterium tuberculosis from one suffering from the disease. An ideal environment where this can occur is in a crowded place, and only when the patient is sneezing, coughing, talking, or singing. The host, in this case, is the person who risks getting infected by this disease. The agent is a bacterium that is transmitted through the air from one person to another. Finally, the environmental factors include the overcrowding of people, coupled with poor sanitation.
Roles of Public Health nurse about Tuberculosis
The public health sector performs the role of planning, evaluating, and controlling TB management and prevention. First, the public health nurse plans to prevent the outbreak of TB and how to combat it after it strikes (Katsuda et al., 2015). For instance, in collaboration with other stakeholders, such as medical experts, they should develop a plan to control TB’s spread. They would keep updating the TB control plan and distribute it to the stakeholders for better coordination.
The public health sector is also supposed to conduct training of their staff and stakeholders on preventing the outbreak of the disease. They need to train and educate the community members they are operating, the officials working in public health. This would help in creating awareness about the disease and how to eradicate it. Thereafter, they need to evaluate whether the trainees have understood the training. This would increase the confidence in eradicating, control, and managing the disease (Katsuda et al., 2015).
Besides, the public health sector should develop policies that guide the conduct of all the participants involved in the control and management of TB. This will help the nurses to compile their reports concerning the effectiveness of the program. In their research, Katsuda et al. (2015) add that this sector is also responsible for developing a standard procedure to be followed when dealing with TB cases. Also, it needs to conduct seminars and capacity buildings of all the TB control and management stakeholders. Finally, it needs to champion the application of modern technology in this noble course.
TB, as one of the dangerous epidemics in the world, is not ending any time soon. Having explored its causes, symptoms, modes of transmission, and different approaches to its management and treatment, it is possible for everyone to prevent the disease’s outbreak. Moreover, everyone can contribute to mitigating TB’s effects and, in turn, boost their health statuses. To make its management easier, every person needs to establish whether they are infected with the disease. It is similarly crucial to detect the disease at its onset for easy treatment.
References
Determinants of Health | Healthy People 2020. (2020). ODPHP. https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/about/foundation-health-measures/Determinants-of-Health
Holland, D. P., Alexander, S., Onwubiko, U., Goswami, N. D., Yamin, A., Mohamed, O., … & Toomey, K. E. (2019). Response to isoniazid-resistant tuberculosis in homeless shelters, Georgia, USA, 2015–2017. Emerging infectious diseases, 25(3), 593.
Katsuda, N., Hirosawa, T., Reyer, J. A., & Hamajima, N. (2015). Roles of public health centers (Hokenjo) in tuberculosis control in Japan. Nagoya journal of medical science, 77(1-2), 19.
Pourakbari, B., Mamishi, S., Banar, M., Keshtkar, A. A., & Mahmoudi, S. (2019). Prevalence of TB/HIV co-infection in Iran: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Ann Ig, 31(4), 333-348.
Vesga, J. F., Hallett, T. B., Reid, M. J., Sachdeva, K. S., Rao, R., Khaparde, S., … & Masini, E. (2019). Assessing tuberculosis control priorities in high-burden settings: a modeling approach. The Lancet Global Health, 7(5), e585-e595.
World Health Organization. (2019). Global tuberculosis report 2019 (No. WHO/CDS/TB/2019.15). World Health Organization.