Hello and welcome back. Previously, I had mentioned the life cycle of M. Tuberculosis. Today we will talk about how people have been vaccinated and also its ecology.
The Spread of Tuberculosis
(MTB) is an infectious disease spread through the air of its tuberculosis bacilli and inhaled by someone nearby, lungs being the main target. It first appeared 70,000 years ago and then hit an epidemic during the industrial revolution when living conditions were at its worst. It started to decrease fairly rapidly during the 20th century through improved nutrition and housing conditions. Also, a vaccine had been introduced in 1921 called GCB and an antimicrobial drug, rifampicin.
Although there were efforts for the eradication of this disease, it sparked back up in the 1980s. This disease still affects one third of the population because of its latency. It has killed 2 million each year and 9 million people have an active form of TB in their system. 90% of TB patients have gone to developing countries and the regions affected by it the most are Africa, Southeast Asia, and Europe. Because there are drug-resistant and multi-drug resistant strains, it becomes harder to manage it.
The World Health Organization has recommended different tactics of applications using antibiotics, but since these treatments take such a long time, it is difficult for low-income countries to continue with the applications. The reason for drug-resistant strains of TB to occur in populations is because of not following procedures and not having the correct diagnostic tools in developing countries.
Currently, the vaccine that is being used is BCG (Bacillus Calmette–Guerin). There is still a search for a more effective vaccine since BCG’s efficacy for severe TB forms in young children. It also has limited protection in adults. Hundreds of vaccines have been undergoing examinations, but none of them have passed a clinical trials phase.
Overall, M. Tuberculosis has caused catastrophic conditions to the population with its antibiotic resistance, epidemics, and latency in humans, because of this it has caused an evolutionary success.
Hey!
This was so interesting. I have always been interested in tuberculosis. What made you pick this microbe? And did you find anything troubling in your research?
Interesting facts about Mycobacterium tuberculosis! I have a friend who have TB, glad that he followed the procedure with medication and follow up with his physician. It must be very stressful for people in developing countries dealing with this disease.