Tuberculosis

Definitions

  • Mycobacterium tuberculosis

  • Granuloma - a small cluster of immune cells that forms to wall off something the body can’t easily eliminate

Infected - # of people who are infected\

TB - respiratory transmission, optimal conditions for transmission

  • Overcrowding

  • Poor personal hygiene

  • Poor public hygiene

Origins

  • Co-evolving with humans

Pathogenesis

  • Inhale droplet nuclei

  • Bacteria multiples

  • Macrophages consume bacteria, then die

  • Bloodstream

Transmission

  • Coughing

  • Sneezing

  • Shouting

  • Any way to expel bacilli into air

  • Spreads into

    • Lung

    • Renal cortex

    • Reticuloendothelial system

Mycobacterium

  • M. leprae and bovis

  • Slow growing

  • Thick cell wall

Macrophages

  • After engulfment, TB remains in the phagosome

  • Induces apoptosis in infected macrophages

Granuloma

  • Aggregation

    • Macrophages

    • T lymphocytes

    • B lymphocytes

    • Fibroblasts

  • Caseation - necrosis cell death

Virulence Mechanisms

  • Binds to mannose receptors on macrophages

  • Inhibits phagosome-lysosome fusion

  • TB interferes with toxic effects of oxygen

  • Slow gen time

  • Immune system not triggered quickly

Symptoms

  • Prolonged cough

  • Shortness of breath

  • Chest pain

  • Night sweats/fever/chills

  • Unexplained weight loss

  • Fatigue

PPD test

  • Precipitate of non-species-specific molecules obtained from filtrates of sterilized, concentrated cultures

Bacille Calmette-Guerin

  • Live attenuated strain

  • Administered at birth where TB is common

Classification of Drugs

  • First line - isoniazid, rifampin

  • Second line - p-amino salicylic acid, streptomycin, ethambutol

  • Third line - amikacin, kanamycin, capreomycin, viomycin, cycloserine

Multidrug-resistant - resistant to at least two of the best anti-TB drugs

Extensively drug resistant - resistant to more drugs

Isoniazid

  • Bacteriostatic for resting bacilli, stops bacteria from reproducing

Resistance

  • Failure of the drug to penetrate or be taken up by the microorganism

Rifampin

  • Resistance due to alteration of the target (DNA dependent RNA polymerase) of the drug, prevents further initiation but not elongation