Chinanews.com, Beijing, March 24 (Zhang Yilin) In Lu Xun’s novel “Medicine”, the story of the teahouse owner Hua Laoshuan and his wife buying human blood steamed buns for their son to cure “tuberculosis” is impressive.
“Tuberculosis” is tuberculosis. As one of the oldest human diseases, tuberculosis has been entangled with human beings for thousands of years.
March 24 is World Tuberculosis Day. Who are easy to get recruited? How to prevent this “white plague”?
Data Map: Outpatient Registration Office. Photo by Wei Liang published by China News Agency
There are nearly 10 million new tuberculosis patients in the world every year
According to the “2021 Annual Report” released by WHO in October last year According to the Global Tuberculosis Report, in 2020, there will be 9.87 million new tuberculosis patients worldwide, and my country is still one of the 30 countries with a high burden of tuberculosis in the world.
Liu Xiaoqing, chief physician of the Department of Infectious Diseases of Peking Union Medical College Hospital, introduced that tuberculosis is an ancient disease that can be traced back to 70,000 years ago and was once known as the “white plague”.
Tuberculosis is caused by the infection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in the human body, which can affect almost every organ and has various manifestations. It is known as the “universal imitator”.
Dr. Yang Zhengrong, Department of Infectious Diseases, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, said that the highest incidence of tuberculosis is pulmonary tuberculosis, which is transmitted through the respiratory tract. So tuberculosis is not the same as tuberculosis. In addition to pulmonary tuberculosis, extrapulmonary tuberculosis is also very common, and any tissues and organs of the human body except hair, teeth and nails may be invaded by Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
Why is the “culprit” of tuberculosis so difficult to eradicate?
The doctor introduced that the “culprit” of tuberculosis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, has become more and more “smarter” in order to adapt to the living environment in the process of co-evolution with humans.
It is highly contagious, very “cunning” (knows long-term latent, waits for opportunities), and is drug-resistant (can be resistant to a variety of first-line anti-tuberculosis drugs), pathogenic complexity (The drug resistance rate of retreatment patients is about 18%), difficult to obtain pathogens (the etiological diagnosis rate of pulmonary tuberculosis patients in my country is about 55%, and the pathogenic diagnosis rate of active tuberculosis patients in general hospitals is less than 1/3), etc. Unique pathogenic features.
Data map: Doctors cut a “grape bunch” of lungs for a tuberculosis patient. Photo by Qiao Peng
Who is easy to be recruited?
Liu Xiaoqing said that the source of infection of tuberculosis is the active pulmonary tuberculosis patients who are sick, and the pulmonary tuberculosis patients with positive etiology are the main source of infection.
When pulmonary tuberculosis patients cough, sneeze and speak loudly, a large number of droplets containing tuberculosis bacteria can be produced. These particles can be suspended in the air for a long time, and can last for up to Close contacts of a TB patient can become infected by inhaling these particles within 4 to 5 hours.
In contrast, patients with latent infection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (a state in which the human body is stimulated by Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigens with a persistent immune response, but without clinical evidence of active tuberculosis), cured pulmonary tuberculosis patients do not. Contagious.
Whether people with latent infection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis will develop the disease is not only related to the number of infected tuberculosis bacteria and virulence factors, but also related to human immunity.
For example, infants, the elderly, malnutrition, pneumoconiosis, diabetes, malignant tumor, kidney disease, HIV infection, organ transplant, long-term use of hormone inhibitors, irregular diet The risk of developing active TB is much higher in people with latent TB infection and high mental stress than in immunocompetent people.
In the data picture, photo by reporter Zhang Yu of Xinshe
What should I do if I suspect I have tuberculosis ?
Some people have fever, cough, expectoration, night sweats, weight loss, or find a “shadow” on the chest X-ray through a health examination, and start to speculate randomly, is it tuberculosis?
The doctor reminds that the lung shadow is not necessarily lung cancer. Most of the fever and lung shadow are benign diseases, which can be divided into infectious diseases and non-infectious diseases. Infectious diseases include tuberculosis, other bacterial, fungal, viral and other pathogenic infections. Non-infectious diseases include lung cancer, lung involvement, etc.
If the above symptoms appear, it is recommended to seek medical treatment in a regular hospital infectious disease department or respiratory department in time. First, chest CT examination, blood test, tuberculin skin test, sputum examination, etc. are performed.
Yang Zhengrong reminded that there is no need to worry too much even if it is diagnosed. Tuberculosis generally has a good prognosis. Some tuberculosis patients can heal themselves through their own resistance, and the imaging manifestations are calcifications. Most patients only need to follow the doctor’s advice. After regular anti-tuberculosis treatment can be cured. But do not conceal the condition or blindly seek medical treatment, which may lead to delay in treatment and infect others.
For ordinary people, they can enhance their immunity in terms of diet and exercise, work and rest regularly, maintain an optimistic attitude, try to avoid contact with tuberculosis patients, wear N95 masks if visiting, and pay attention to indoor ventilation , eat more fruits and vegetables, sunbathe more, quit smoking and drinking, and seek medical attention in time for suspected tuberculosis symptoms such as fever, cough, expectoration, night sweats, weight loss, etc. (End)