Tuberculosis infection can now be confirmed using a new urine test developed by a group of researchers. The new urine test uses a type of dye on tiny molecular cages that contain a sugar type that coats tuberculosis bacteria. The researchers reported that the test can be used to diagnose anyone at any stage of the disease.
Tuberculosis is a respiratory disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The disease primarily infects the lungs but as it progress, the infection can spread to other parts of the body. TB is one of the worst diseases of the 19th century and currently the ninth leading cause of death worldwide.
There are two main types of screening tests for tuberculosis – a skin test and a culture test.
1. Mantoux test is a screening tool for TB and a major
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About 10.4 million people got sick with the disease in the same year, in which 90 percent were adults, 65 percent were men, and 10 percent were people living with HIV.
The most common symptoms of tuberculosis is a persistent fever with night sweats. It is usually followed by unintentional weight loss and fatigue or weakness. If the disease progresses, cavities in the lungs will form that cause the person to cough saliva, mucus, phlegm or blood.
In older infants and children, the latent tuberculosis infection usually does not exhibit any symptoms. Children infected with TB may develop immunity within 6 to 10 weeks of infection. However, some cases in children can lead to progressive tuberculosis, a form of TB that spread outside the lungs. The reactivation tuberculosis is a condition wherein the bacteria lie dormant and wait for a favorable situation, such as a compromised immune system.
Treatment for tuberculosis is composed of multiple medications that disrupt the mycolic acids in the bacteria’s cell wall and inhibit mechanisms for