Super TB XDR TB - worrying new plague

Last week, US President G. Bush ordered special segregation of an American citizen after the patient went to Canada and Europe by plane. This citizen is infected with a rare form of drug-resistant TB (XDR TB for short), from a special extensively drug-resistant phrase to a tuberculosis, which must be treated.

In American history, for the first time a president issued such a forced isolation order in 1963 for smallpox!

XDR is a special form of tuberculosis, MDR TB (multidrug-resistant tuberculosis), according to information from the American Center for Diagnosis and Control. In 2006, the World Health Organization (WHO) has for the first time defined these two forms of tuberculosis, in which MDR TB is a type of TB that cannot be treated with the two most common drugs today (Isoniazid and Rifambin).

To counteract it, special drugs, sometimes extremely toxic, cause many side effects. In addition, XDR TB is very difficult to treat and in most cases, the currently known properties are not really treatable.

M. Krishna Indian tuberculosis patient is breathing oxygen at a government hospital in Hyderabad.XDR - TB is spreading fast in India, especially among young people working.(Photo: AFP)

This type of super-spread is the same as normal TB: the person who is ' discharged ' into the air (by coughing, talking or simply breathing) the infectious agent is a rod-shaped bacterium, also called vi Koch worm (the name of the German doctor who found this germ). Koch germs can live in the air for several hours. However, it does not spread through contact like sharing brushes, shaking hands or even kissing. Koch's germs are slow to replicate, they are less likely to be released, so the spread takes a long time.

According to WHO, the rate of TB transmission is no different from the normal rate of TB transmission, but this conclusion has not been verified in any particular study.

It is hypothesized that the current widely used vaccine (with an abbreviated name in BCG in English) of the common type of TB is likely to prevent new tuberculosis. However, no documents have confirmed this. In addition, in some countries, people do not use this vaccine because it cannot protect adults. Vaccine is also unable to prevent infection.

XDR TB usually develops in people with TB who generally do not regularly use prescription drugs. In addition, there are cases of this TB infection in people who have been cured of TB, now for some reason contact with the TB patient and infect again. This form of spread is especially common in people with weak immune systems, especially those with HIV / AIDS.

Symptoms of XDR TB are not different from regular TB : people who feel weak, tired, lose their appetite, lose weight, or have a fever or night often sweat. When the disease gets worse they will see chest pain, coughing up blood. Tuberculosis diagnosis usually takes 1-2 days, but in the case of super tuberculosis, this process takes several weeks (6 to 16 weeks).

This super-TB was first discovered in the 1990s. It is thought that it is because the germ koch has adapted to the drug, in addition to not being super long-lived, but the medical experts cannot afford it. Its ability to detect it because of many modern experimental devices in many countries around the world.

According to WHO, the United States is not the only country with super-TB. The organization said that in the past four years, in 34 countries have appeared, on all continents except Australia. According to WHO, by 2015, the world needs 650 million USD to discover that about 1.5 million people are believed to be currently super-workers.

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