Wednesday, July 28, 2010

what type of pathogen is tuberculosis

what type of pathogen is tuberculosis?
please be specific, does it have a latin name?
Respiratory Diseases - 5 Answers
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1 :
a nasty pathogen
2 :
tuberculosis is a viral pathogen.
3 :
mycobacterium (which is a pathogen) causes it so it can't be a viral pathogen. It is categorized as an infectious disease.
4 :
It is a bacterium ... mycobacterium tuberculosis
5 :
TB is short for Tubercule Bacillus not tuberculosis. It's an acid fast bacillus that can live in your stomach. An old method of culturing TB was to wake the person up and let them cough and swallow whatever they coughed up. Then you'd put a tube down their nose into the stomach and draw your sample from there. Only the AFB would survive.generally. It's also called Acid Fast because it retains a particular stain after rinsing with acid called a Ziegh-Neelsen test

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Saturday, July 24, 2010

A definite diagnosis of active tuberculosis is based on

A definite diagnosis of active tuberculosis is based on:?
a.) BCG (tuberculin) test b.) Chest X-rays c.) Clinical symptoms d.) Isolation of Mycobacterium tubercle from the patient e.) Isolation of antibodies against Mycobacterium tubercle from patient serum i think its E. not sure what you think?
Medicine - 4 Answers
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1 :
We used to make the diagnosis based on isolation of the mycobacterium from the patient's sputum, lymph nodes or abscess. ie. D would be correct
2 :
d or e... but leaning more towards d <(^_^)>
3 :
The answer is D. A and E only show that you have been exposed to TB, C cannot definitely ascribe the symptoms directly to TB, and B only shows if you have had TB, can't definitely be used to diagnose Active TB... Scarring from previous TB is still evident on Chest X-Ray after it is treated...
4 :
The best answer IMO is D. There are several serotypes of the Mycobacterium which are not pathogenic for humans and these can be found in garden soil and in agricultural scenarios. And people exposed to such saprophytic forms of the Mycobacteriae microbe can have 'false positive' tests for the disease. Also, if the skin testing agent (PPD) is not properly prepared for a skin test ( too cold, e.g.). It will also give a false positive test. Isolating the organism from sputum and culturing on Loffler's medium is still the most diagnostic method. Hope this helps! __ Jim G

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Tuesday, July 20, 2010

My friend's chest x-ray was positive for Tuberculosis, can I still hang out with her

My friend's chest x-ray was positive for Tuberculosis, can I still hang out with her?
Her skin TB test is positive. Then her chest x-ray is positive. I'm scared to hang out with her because I'm scared that I'll be infected with TB. If she breathes near me, will I be affected? or if she coughs near me? I'm sorry if I sound very immature, but I'm taking a Microbiology class and everything scares me!!!
Respiratory Diseases - 4 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
Its not contagious in nature but it can be. Be protected, since its cold, wear long sleeves, dont put hands in your mouth, disinfect, dot let her make a lot of physical contact etc. Dont fret though. After a few weeks of treatment, it will be less dangerous and you can ease a bit.
2 :
TB is contagious. Stay away for a couple weeks until antibiotics take effect and your friend is not contagious. Don't take any chances. It's a serious disease. Whoever gave me thumbs down doesn't know much about TB. Not only is it serious, if you get it you could be a year getting rid of it. My brother had it and it wasn't fun.
3 :
Two sets of questions : 1) Assuming her TB skin test is positive, could it be positive for another exposure or reason? 2) If this is the case, her chest Xray positive for TB is variable : Can you provide a better description? 1) Assuming her TB skin test is positive and new, and 2) Her chest xray said "miliary TB" -- she would be in respiratory isolation. TB (in the USA) is still a disease that has strict controls. It is probably OK to hang around with her, no harm in waiting a couple of weeks.
4 :
Pulmonary TB is contagious. If this is what she has she should have been put in isolation until she is proven to be non-infectious. This would be the job of your local public health officials and her doctor

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Friday, July 16, 2010

Does tuberculosis produce lumps

Does tuberculosis produce lumps?
My dad was diagnosed with tuberculosis and he shows most of the symptoms (night sweats, back and chest pain, fever). He's been taking broad-spectrum antibiotics as prescribed. However, there's a lump in his neck that swells and shrinks along with his back pain, and our medical book doesn't list it as a symptom. It's been around a month or so before he was diagnosed. More recently I noticed another smaller lump on his shoulder. Are these still related to his TB, or could it be some other problem? If the latter, what are the possibilities? Thanks.
Respiratory Diseases - 3 Answers
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1 :
Probably related to the TB and should go away with the treatment. TB is very slow growing and is often encapsulated by the body's immune system making a little granuloma (lump).
2 :
the lumps could be lymph nodes swollen due to the infection. if so, there is nothing to worry about as swelling in the lymph nodes is a natural reaction of the body. consult your doctor nonetheless.
3 :
My dad had tb. He had lymph nodes previous to the tb, then internal bleeding during the TB. I can't remember the medicine the put him on, but it worked. He's been clear for 3 and a half years now. But the medicine caused epilepsy. but now that is controlled as well

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Monday, July 12, 2010

If I had tuberculosis, would you come and visit me in the hospital

If I had tuberculosis, would you come and visit me in the hospital?

Polls & Surveys - 12 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
Sure, why not?
2 :
No, Ben.
3 :
No but Barrack Obama would
4 :
no
5 :
only if you'd pay the flight fare
6 :
Yes............I've been inoculated for TB.....but would probably wear a mask to be on the safe side!
7 :
no my chain-smoking of cigarettes never goes over well in hospitals
8 :
Course! thats what friends are for! (although I secretly have an eye on your huge estate and need to check if I'm getting a piece of it)
9 :
I dont like hospitals but I would visit someone with tb.
10 :
yeah why not you're like the only contact i've kept for this long
11 :
Sure...I've already been exposed to it and it didn't kill me. Who are you, Doc Holliday??? I'm your huckleberry.
12 :
I'm afraid not. Its a highly contagious disease, and they would have you isolated, anyway. I'd send you a get well fast card

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Thursday, July 8, 2010

is montoux test only the confirmation test for tuberculosis

is montoux test only the confirmation test for tuberculosis?

Infectious Diseases - 2 Answers
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1 :
Chest x-ray Sputum culture (mucous) Bronchoscopy if the person is unable to produce sputum If lesions are present a biopsy is needed. Hope this helps
2 :
The Mantoux test is the beginning. If it is found to be positive then see answer above

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Sunday, July 4, 2010

What are some interesting facts on Tuberculosis

What are some interesting facts on Tuberculosis?

Respiratory Diseases - 1 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
TB is a communicable disease that is transmitted by droplet, that means the sneeze and the cough and the phlegm...usually its diagnosed if you have a white patch in your chest x ray and a positive TB test..signs and symptoms are you usually night sweats, productive cough..body weakness, muscle wasting, fever, losing apetite..when diagnosed, the doctor usually wants you to be isolated, at least cover your mouth with a mask, and he will have you take a multi drug dose therapy that consists of rifampin, etahmbutol, streptomycin and isoniazid..since the microorganism that cause this TB is drug resistant, full compliance of the multi drug therapy is very important, so close supervision is a must..after three months of therapy will the person be able to be non contagious of the disease..treatment usually lasts 6 months..hope this helps

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Thursday, July 1, 2010

what exactly is tuberculosis

what exactly is tuberculosis?
what is tuberculosis? -my friend said its where liquid fills your lungs. -wikipedia said it affects your lungs, and named other symtoms. -other sites said the same as wikipedia i want to know exactly what it is - does it fill your lungs up with liquid? what exactly does it do to your lungs? even though it's french homework im doing this on marie curie - and im talking about how her mother died of TB. if you can answer my question asap i would be so happy. this is homework and i need to finish it by the end of tonight (10.00 pm)
Respiratory Diseases - 2 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
its a bacterial disease. it can present with pneumonia as youve mentioned, as most usually does. but some people just have it in glands, like an enlarged lymph node in their neck because thats where the bacteria is.
2 :
What parts of the body are affected by tuberculosis? First and foremost, tuberculosis is a disease of the lungs. However, the infection can spread via blood from the lungs to all organs in the body. This means that you can develop tuberculosis in the pleura (the covering of the lungs), in the bones, the urinary tract and sexual organs, the intestines and even in the skin. Since you are asking only abt its effects on lungs. Thus i am explaining only that. How the bacteria damages the lungs - The bacteria first affect the lungs In pulmonary tuberculosis, "Mycobacterium tuberculosis" bacteria reside in the alveoli and are in close proximity with the alveolar surfactant. Mycolic acid in its free form constitute the major lipids of the mycobacterial cell wall. They can detach from the bacteria easily and are known to be moderately surface active.Mycobacterial cell wall lipids could interact with the pulmonary surfactant and result in lung surfactant dysfunction. These all factors leads to higher surface tension and compressibility values. This leads to the formation of an unstable and fluid surfactant film, which will fail to achieve low surface tensions and can contribute to alveolar collapse in patients suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis. This unstable and fluid surfactant is the liquid you are talking about. Hope this answer will be of some help for you

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