World TB Day: Knowing the killer

Tuberculosis, caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis, is a chronic infectious disease and is one of the leading causes of death in South Africa.

South Africa has one of the highest reported rates of TB infections in the world. Other countries with significant rates of TB infection include Pakistan, Nigeria, China, Indonesia and India, according to a 2015 World Health Organisation (WHO) report. Three of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) countries are included on that list – SA, India and China.

People living with HIV are 20 to 30 times more likely to develop active TB than people who are  HIV negative, according to WHO, which recommends a 12-component approach of collaborative TB-HIV activities, including actions for prevention and treatment of infection and disease, to reduce deaths.

Some strains of the bacteria have developed resistance to drugs. Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) results from poor treatment.

Symptoms of TB include a cough that goes on for longer than a month, fatigue, loss of appetite and weight, joint pain, chest pain, loss of hearing, excessing sweating (particularly at night), diarrhoea and coughing blood.