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Communicable Disease: Tuberculosis

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Infectious Disease: Tuberculosis

As noted by Anser et al. (2020) various terms such as infectious and transmissible

ailments have been employed to denote communicable diseases. Therefore, infectious disease is

not a novel term but a common encounter in the world today. Myriad ailments under the

category have been identified in society. Some of the examples encompass influenza,

tuberculosis, COVID-19, HIV/AIDS, malaria, Ebola, and chicken pox among others. From the

list, it is evident that communicable diseases are spread from animals to individuals or between

individuals via bacterial or viral contamination. Noteworthy, contamination may be through

bodily fluids or blood from those infected. A communicable disease can be identified as

contagious making surveillance, management, and prevention paramount across a continuum of

community settings. In the current paper, the selected infectious disease is tuberculosis.

Disease Description

Tuberculosis is commonly abbreviated as “TB” and being an ancient disease it has affected a

vast number of human beings over the years.

Causes

The chronic disease is caused by a bacterium identified as Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Addo et

al., 2022).

Mode of transmission

The disease mode of transmission is from one person to another through air. Infected individuals

exhibit specific symptoms such as sneezing or coughing where airborne particles are emitted.

The particles remain suspended in the air for some time. In case of close contact with another

person or exposure to the bacterium, it enters the lungs causing an infection depending on the

level of immunity. Tuberculosis bacterium behaves in a variety of ways. First, it has the capacity
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to mutate evading the natural defense mechanism of the host. Therefore, an individual may be

infected but no disease symptoms are evident. In such a scenario, a latent state of tuberculosis is

present. During certain episodes or scenarios, an active case of tuberculosis may be present.

Symptoms may develop indicating an infection where the disease becomes contagious. There are

different factors that may culminate in the change from a latent case to an active one. For

example, if the host becomes immune-compromised or gets another disease, symptoms of

tuberculosis may appear. Such an observation denotes the importance of conducting screening

tests, especially for those who are at risk to minimize comorbid cases. Besides, frontline

healthcare workers should undergo regular screening to identify any latent cases.

Symptoms

The disease may present an array of symptoms depending on the level of infection and host

immune response. Besides, symptoms may be unique to the site of infection. According to Farina

et al. (2022), the common symptoms encompass persistent fever, unremitting cough, fatigue,

night sweats, hemoptysis, weight loss, chest pain, hilar adenopathy, and pleural effusion.

Importantly, individuals with the latent form of the disease will not exhibit any of the symptoms.

The symptoms will ensue when the individuals become immune-compromised.

Treatment

Mtafya et al. (2022) indicated that the treatment of the disease involves a 6-month regimen

comprising drugs such as isoniazid, rifampicin, pyrazinamide, and ethambutol.

Complications

The complications of the disease may depend on factors such as the site of infection, the duration

of the disease, and the immunity of the host. Patients are likely to have damaged lungs,

meningitis, Horner's syndrome, and empyema.


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Demographics

Understanding disease demographics plays a critical role in assessing risk potential and

formulation of mitigation approaches. For example, factors such as poor ventilation,

overcrowding, inadequate access to quality care, malnutrition, and behavioral factors including

drug abuse increase the risk of exposure to the disease. Besides, the factors impact of the

timeliness of diagnosis, disease progression, and treatment success. Nonetheless, poverty and

underdevelopment remain a substantial impediment to the timely diagnosis and proper treatment

approach. Socioeconomic factors encompassing education, access to quality care, availability of

clinicians, and poverty level remain significant challenges to the mitigation of the disease.

According to Healthy People 2020 (n.d), factors such as nutrition, education, and access to care

should be addressed adequately to achieve a healthy world.

Incidence

According to WHO (n.d), the prevalence of the disease is 134 cases per 100,000 individuals.

Prevalence

The WHO (n.d) indicated that about 10.6 million individuals had active disease cases in the year

2022.

Morbidity and Mortality

According to WHO (n.d.), about 1.3 million individuals died from the disease in the year 2022.

New cases were 10.6 million in the same.

Determinants of Health Affecting the Disease

Factors such as poor ventilation, overcrowding, inadequate access to quality care,

malnutrition, and behavioral factors including drug abuse increase the risk of exposure to the

disease. Besides, the factors impact the timely diagnosis, disease progression rate, and treatment
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success. Nonetheless, poverty and underdevelopment remain substantial impediments to the

timely diagnosis and proper treatment approach. Socioeconomic factors encompassing

education, access to quality care, availability of clinicians, and poverty level remain significant

challenges to the mitigation of the disease.

Epidemiologic Triad

The essence of epidemiology is to mitigate public health concerns by critically analyzing

the determinants and disease distribution within the global populations. It is paramount to

understand the interrelationships between the agent, environment, and the involved host. In the

current disease under consideration, the infectious agent is Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It is a

bacterium that can evade the host's defense mechanisms. In the current scenario, understanding

the infectivity and pathogenicity of the bacterium is important to enhance surveillance and

prevention approaches. After the agent, the host in the current disease under investigation is a

human being. The individuals provide a suitable environment for the agent to multiply and

survive resulting in the development of the disease. During an active disease situation, the agents

can spread from one person to another through inhalation of airborne particles. In regard to the

host, exposure, susceptibility, and response of the agent, factors such as race, age, nutrition,

psychological, level of immunity, and genetics interplay to dictate the progression to active

disease cases. Therefore, a strong immunity level can help fight the infection while immune-

compromised individuals are susceptible to an active disease case. The third triad in

consideration is the environment. Physical, biological, and social/economic factors may

contribute to the prevalence of the disease. For example, the spread of the pathogen may be

impacted by factors such as overcrowding, congestion, and poor ventilation. Besides,

determinants of health such as access and level of quality may impact the diagnosis and
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treatment process. Health inequalities resulting from socioeconomic deprivations may increase

the risk of the disease plus overall mortality/morbidity.

Role of Public Health Nurses in Regard to Tuberculosis

Nurses remain at the forefront in offering care services and identifying risk factors to

populations. Such data is important in designing prevention programs, and planning and

promotion of health. In regard to the current disease, public health nurses can mainly help

prevent disease spread in the community. One way to achieve such an objective is to encourage

members of society to be vaccinated especially those who are disadvantaged. Vaccine uptake

may not be high if a proper campaign on the need and importance is not advocated. Secondly,

the nurses can be whistle-blowers in cases of outbreaks in a given societal setting. Data on the

number of cases can help formulate control strategies and policies concerning public safety. The

nurses help in achieving timely diagnosis, compliance with treatment, and offering needed

education on safety measures. The nurses help increase community awareness of disease

prevention, spread, and the need to engage in optimal treatment approaches. Follow-up can help

increase the completion of the treatment regimen through education and campaigns. Therefore,

the public health system has the responsibility to prevent and control the disease.
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References

Addo, J., Pearce, D., Metcalf, M., Lundquist, C., Thomas, G., Barros-Aguirre, D., ... & Strange,

M. (2022). Living with tuberculosis: a qualitative study of patients’ experiences with

disease and treatment. BMC Public Health, 22(1), 1-16.

Anser, M. K., Islam, T., Khan, M. A., Zaman, K., Nassani, A. A., Askar, S. E., ... & Kabbani, A.

(2020). Identifying the potential causes, consequences, and prevention of communicable

diseases (including COVID-19). BioMed Research International, 2020, 1-13.

Farina, E., D’Amore, C., Lancella, L., Boccuzzi, E., Ciofi degli Atti, M. L., Reale, A., ... &

Raucci, U. (2022). Alert sign and symptoms for the early diagnosis of pulmonary

tuberculosis: analysis of patients followed by a tertiary pediatric hospital. Italian Journal

of Pediatrics, 48(1), 90.

Healthy People 2020. (n.d.). Social determinants of health. Retrieved from

healthypeople.gov/2020/

Mtafya, B., Sabi, I., John, J., Sichone, E., Olomi, W., Gillespie, S. H., ... & Sabiiti, W. (2022).

Systematic assessment of clinical and bacteriological markers for tuberculosis reveals

discordance and inaccuracy of symptom-based diagnosis for treatment response

monitoring. Frontiers in Medicine, 3096.

WHO. (n.d). Incidence, prevalence and mortality of TB. https://www.who.int/teams/global-

tuberculosis-programme/tb-reports/

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