- Treatment against tuberculosis has lost its effectiveness due to the indiscriminate and incorrect use of antibiotics.
- It is a disease that worldwide causes 10 million deaths annually.
- Some of its main symptoms are fatigue, cough, chest pain, fever, and night sweats.
Although there is now a medical treatment and even a vaccine against tuberculosis, the infectious disease is one of the deadliest in the world. In fact, it is estimated that it generates 10 million deaths per year. Due to the above, it is among the top 10 causes of death globally according to WHO records.
Currently, the infection is becoming more difficult to treat due to the lack of timely and effective diagnosis. In addition, the indiscriminate and incorrect use of antibiotics has led to the causative bacteria, Mycobacterium tuberculosisdevelop resistance to the use of recommended drugs (Antimicrobial Resistance or AMR).
“Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease. It affects the lungs and is transmitted from one person to another through microscopic droplets of saliva (aerosols) expelled by people with active infection,” said Dr. Luis Bernardo Luna Ulloa, an expert in Biochemical Sciences and Molecular Diagnostics and Applications Specialist at Becton Dickinson.
The infection causes cough, phlegm that may have traces of blood, chest pain, weight loss, fever, tiredness and night sweats. In healthy people the infection is usually asymptomatic.
In 2020, 291,000 new cases were registered in the world, of which 31,000 were in Mexico. The groups at greatest risk are people who are HIV positive, with chronic diseases and with a compromised immune system.
Diagnosis and treatment against tuberculosis
The diagnosis can be made at the time of the first symptoms or after being in contact with someone with the active infection. It is advisable to use automated molecular tests for resistance to multiple drugs that, together with culture tests, complement the diagnostic algorithm and improve patient follow-up.
These tests can identify up to four results: one is allusive to the presence of the bacterium. While the rest identify certain genetic mutations related to resistance to rifampicin and isoniazid, antibiotics used to treat the infection.
“Drug-resistant tuberculosis can be difficult to diagnose and treat successfully. Without resistance testing for Mycobacterium tuberculosis genetic mutations, it is difficult to prescribe reliable and effective treatment, thereby increasing overall costs to individuals and health systems, as well as the risk of community spread.”
Current WHO recommendations
Although the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends tests to detect associated genetic mutations of Mycobacterium tuberculosis that suggest ADRs, reality shows that the most widely used molecular tests do not provide results for resistance to rifampicin and isoniazid, which means a great public health challenge.
For this reason, and in order to make a difference in stopping the spread of infection, it is important that people educate themselves about the disease, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment.
This year the motto for World Tuberculosis Day is: Yes! We can end TB. The WHO estimates that every day about 4,400 people lose their lives due to complications caused by this infection, which is preventable and curable if detected and treated early.
Also read:
Mexico has effective and free treatment for tuberculosis: IMSS
First nasal tuberculosis vaccine: Everything you need to know
WHO accelerates the development of the first high-efficacy vaccine against tuberculosis