Why can't many tuberculosis patients be cured?

In most cases, TB is treatable and curable; however, people with TB can die if they do not get proper treatment. Sometimes drug-resistant TB occurs when bacteria become resistant to the drugs used to treat TB. This means that the drug can no longer kill the TB bacteria.

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Why is there no cure for tuberculosis?

Scientists have assumed that mycobacteria are so hard to kill because dormant cells exist even in patients with active disease and these cells are far less susceptible to antibiotics than metabolically active bacteria.

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What are the 3 biggest challenges to effective TB treatment?

Five key strategies
  • Toxic Treatment.
  • Unidentified TB cases.
  • Lack of social support.
  • Centralized drug-resistant TB (DR-TB) care.
  • Stigma.

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Can tuberculosis be cured permanently?

Tuberculosis is curable and preventable.

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Why is tuberculosis no longer common?

A hundred years ago, tuberculosis (TB) was the leading cause of death in the United States. These days, thanks to the development of effective treatments and a vigilant public health system, this deadly disease is largely controlled in the U.S. But TB is not gone—and it should not be forgotten.

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TB Survivors’ Messages to TB Patients

35 related questions found

When was tuberculosis not curable?

By the late 1950s it was observed that if all three drugs were given to TB patients, cure rates of 80-90% could be achieved. However, the side effects and toxicity were formidable and required 18-24 months treatment. Other new drugs were discovered in ensuing decades and by 1990, cure could be achieved in 6 months.

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Has anyone ever recovered from tuberculosis?

Ingrid, from South Africa

I am Ingrid and I had pre-extensively drug resistant tuberculosis (pre-XDR-TB), a form of TB caused by bacteria that are resistant to some of the most effective anti-TB drugs. After two years on TB treatment (including an injectable drug) I was cured.

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Has anyone ever survived tuberculosis?

[1] Very few recovered. Those who survived their first bout with the disease were haunted by severe recurrences that destroyed any hope for an active life. It was estimated that, at the turn of the century, 450 Americans died of tuberculosis every day, most between ages 15 and 44.

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How fatal was tuberculosis back then?

On March 24, 1882, Dr. Robert Koch announced the discovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacteria that causes tuberculosis (TB). During this time, TB killed one out of every seven people living in the United States and Europe. Dr.

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What is the failure rate of TB treatment?

The success rate for the treatment of drug-sensitive TB in adults was 80.1% (95% CI: 78.4–81.7). America had the lowest treatment success rate, 75.9% (95% CI: 73.8–77.9), and Oceania had the highest, 83.9% (95% CI: 75.2–91.0).

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Can ginger cure tuberculosis?

Conclusions. Ginger was found to be effective as an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant supplement along with anti-TB therapy as it possesses strong free radical scavenging property.

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What is the main problem of tuberculosis?

The bacteria usually attack the lungs, but TB bacteria can attack any part of the body such as the kidney, spine, and brain. Not everyone infected with TB bacteria becomes sick. As a result, two TB-related conditions exist: latent TB infection (LTBI) and TB disease. If not treated properly, TB disease can be fatal.

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Is There A vaccine for TB?

Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) is a vaccine for tuberculosis (TB) disease. This vaccine is not widely used in the United States. However, it is often given to infants and small children in other countries where TB is common.

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Why is tuberculosis called white death?

Part 1 – Phthisis, consumption and the White Plague. In that time it also became known as the great white plague and the white death [4, 5, 24], called “white” because of the extreme anaemic pallor of those affected [4, 25].

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Was TB 100% fatal?

If effective treatment is not given, the death rate for active TB cases is up to 66%.

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Why was TB romanticized?

The idea of being quietly and inoffensively sick further explains why this disease was romanticized. The symptoms of tuberculosis were exponentially preferable to other epidemics and infection which ravaged 19th and 20th century society.

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What famous person has tuberculosis?

Charles Bukowski (1920–1994), American author and poet, contracted tuberculosis in 1988; he recovered, losing 60 lbs. He died of leukemia. Albert Camus, French writer, playwright, activist, and absurdist philosopher, suffered from tuberculosis.

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Why was tuberculosis so common?

The incidence of tuberculosis grew progressively during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, displacing leprosy, peaking between the 18th and 19th century as field workers moved to the cities looking for work.

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What is the lifespan of TB patient?

A sensitivity analysis was performed assuming death at loss to follow-up. The analysis included 2278 patients and a background population of 169 760 individuals. Overall median LE among 30-year-old patients with TB was 10.7 years (95% CI: 8.7–12.6), compared with 35.8 (95% CI: 35.1–36.5) in the background population.

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What animal does tuberculosis come from?

The name Tuberculosis comes from the nodules, called 'tubercles', which form in the lymph nodes and other affected tissues of affected animals. Cattle are considered to be the major reservoir M. bovis, and are the main source of infection for humans.

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What are 5 causes of tuberculosis?

Risk factors for TB include:
  • Poverty.
  • HIV infection.
  • Homelessness.
  • Being in jail or prison (where close contact can spread infection)
  • Substance abuse.
  • Taking medication that weakens the immune system.
  • Kidney disease and diabetes.
  • Organ transplants.

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Did gold salts work for TB?

Side-effects to the intramuscular injections were severe, though, including fever, weight loss, vomiting, and – in many cases – death. Yet, use of sanocrysin continued until the Second World War, despite the fact that no scientific tests demonstrated its effectiveness against TB.

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When was tuberculosis a death sentence?

Although TB-related mortality rates have mostly gone down a lot in the 21st century, a diagnosis of tuberculosis was considered as good as a death sentence in the ancient and medieval ages.

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Is TB the oldest disease?

The oldest contagious disease known to affect humans is tuberculosis, a respiratory disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The bacterium is thought to have existed in something similar to its modern form for more than 70,000 years, and has been infecting humans since early prehistory.

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When did TB vaccinations stop in Australia?

In the 1950s the program was expanded to include all Australian school children except those from New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. This policy was discontinued in the mid-1980s (1991 in the Northern Territory) in favour of a more selective approach.

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