infectious diseases
Tuberculosis (TB)
Introduction
Tuberculosis is a chronic, progressive mycobacterial infection, often with an asymptomatic latent period following initial infection. Tuberculosis most commonly affects the lungs. Symptoms include productive cough, fever, weight loss, and malaise. Diagnosis is most often by sputum smear and culture and, when available, by nucleic acid amplification tests. Treatment is with multiple antimicrobial drugs given for at least 4 months. (See also Perinatal Tuberculosis (TB) and Mycobacteria are small, slow-growing, aerobic bacilli. They are distinguished by a complex, lipid-rich cell envelope that makes them acid-fast (ie, resistant to decolorization by acid after staining with carbolfuchsin) and relatively resistant to Gram stain. The most common mycobacterial infection is tuberculosis; others include Leprosy and various environmental Tuberculosis (TB) is a leading infectious cause of death in adults worldwide, killing about 1.5 million people in 2020, most of them in low- and middle-income countries ( General reference ). HIV/AIDS is the most important factor predisposing to TB infection and mortality in parts of the world where both infections are prevalent. 