How to Prevent Tuberculosis – An Overview

Tuberculosis, or commonly known as TB is an infectious disease caused by a gram-positive rod shaped organism called Mycobacterium. In human, Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the principal agent that is commonly responsible. But in immunocompromised patients like AIDS, Mycobacterium avium intracellulare is the commonest causative agent for opportunistic infection. Although, TB is not a killer disease any more in developed countries; it still remains one of the most common causes of death due to chronic lung infection in many developing countries. If you know how to prevent tuberculosis, you can not only save lives, but you can save a lot in treatment exchequer.

To prevent tuberculosis convincingly, you need to follow these guidelines:

• Avoid going near to patients having active TB lesion – this may seem somewhat inhuman, but to prevent TB effectively, you need to avoid those patients. TB spreads via air. As soon as a patient having active pulmonary TB coughs or sneezes, he releases several droplets into the air. These droplets contain the bacteria. If any healthy normal person inhales this droplet, there is a fair possibility that the bacterium may reach the lung alveoli and flare up to produce a disease. If you have no other way to prevent contact with a TB patient, make sure that you wear protective masks and gloves. For those in the field of healthcare, wearing microfiltration masks is a must. It is also advisable to wash your hands with a gentle disinfecting cleanser after you visit a patient having active TB.

• Eating a healthy, high-protein diet – this will boost up your natural immunity. Any diet containing antioxidants also helps in effective prevention of any infectious disease including tuberculosis. Vitamin B complex, minerals like Zinc and Selenium, Calcium and fiber rich foods are also equally effective in improving immunity.

• Get yourself checked for possible TB infection – there are certain tests like Tuberculin test and estimation of Immunoglobulin G (IgG) and Immunoglobulin M (IgM) to diagnose a case of TB. A positive Tuberculin test denotes possible exposure to TB in USA. But in developed countries like India where BCG vaccination is a routine procedure, Tuberculin test has got little or no value. Instead estimation of TB IgG and TB IgM is a popular method of early diagnosis. It is advisable to get an X-ray of Chest done if you are found positive for Tuberculin test. If these tests are found positive, active intervention with anti-TB drugs will help to prevent a full blown disease. There are few good medicines like Isoniazid, Rifampicin, Ethambutol, Pyrazinamide, Streptomycin etc which are highly effective against TB.

• If a person suffers from long standing productive cough, he should walk in the morning sunlight. UV rays present in sunlight are highly effective in killing TB bacilli.

• While traveling to a country having large number of positive TB cases (like India, Bangladesh, Pakistan), it is always better to get vaccinated against TB.

For effective prevention against tuberculosis, a general awareness is essential. TB is a fully curable disease and it should be prevented from spreading to a wider population.