“Only 10 per cent of those people living with tuberculosis infection may suffer from TB disease,’’ noted Indian Medical Association national president Dr. A.M. Pillai.
In most people, who breathe in the TB bacteria, the body’s immune system is able to fight it and stop it from multiplying. This is called TB infection. People who are infected with TB do not feel sick, do not have any symptoms and cannot spread TB, he added.
“However, if the infected person’s immune system cannot stop the bacteria from multiplying, the bacteria eventually cause symptoms of active TB, which is called the TB disease,” explained Dr. K.K. Aggarwal honorary secretary general Indian Medical Association.
Greater risk
He added that people with conditions including HIV, diabetes mellitus, malnutrition and those on treatment with immunosuppressant drugs (anti-cancer, corticosteroids, etc.) are at a greater risk of developing TB disease once infected.
TB is spread through the air by a person suffering from it. A single patient can infect 10 or more people in a year.
Notification important
The Indian Medical Association has claimed that it has been able to notify over one lakh TB patients in the last one year, which has resulted prevention of at least ten lakh TB infections in the country.
