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Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the " white death ", or historically as consumption, [8] is an infectious disease usually caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) bacteria. [1] Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. [1] Most infections show no symptoms, in which case it is known ...
A large number of people who survived tuberculosis still experience symptoms such as breathlessness and coughing. Although the severity is not well understood, some people have reduced quality of life and exercise capacity. [4] [2] In severe cases, people may experience hospitalizations and death related to respiratory causes. [2]
A definitive diagnosis of tuberculosis can only be made by culturing Mycobacterium tuberculosis organisms from a specimen taken from the patient (most often sputum, but may also include pus, CSF, biopsied tissue, etc.). [1] A diagnosis made other than by culture may only be classified as "probable" or "presumed".
In 2014, results of a new DNA study of a tuberculosis genome reconstructed from remains in southern Peru suggest that human tuberculosis is less than 6,000 years old. Even if researchers theorise that humans first acquired it in Africa about 5,000 years ago, [1] there is evidence that the first tuberculosis infection happened about 9,000 years ago.
Global tuberculosis cases reached an all-time high in 2023, with nearly 11 million people estimated to have become sick with the disease last year. According to the World Health Organization’s ...
Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tb), also known as Koch's bacillus, is a species of pathogenic bacteria in the family Mycobacteriaceae and the causative agent of tuberculosis. [1][2] First discovered in 1882 by Robert Koch, M. tuberculosis has an unusual, waxy coating on its cell surface primarily due to the presence of mycolic acid.
Up to 13 million people in the U.S. have latent tuberculosis infections, meaning the bacteria is inactive and the infected person doesn’t have symptoms and isn’t contagious. Around 5% to 10% ...
Pott's disease, or Pott disease, named for British surgeon Percivall Pott who first described the symptoms in 1799, [1] is tuberculosis of the spine, [2][3] usually due to haematogenous spread from other sites, often the lungs. The lower thoracic and upper lumbar vertebrae areas of the spine are most often affected.