Epidemiology of Tuberculosis

It is a common disease in immunocompromised people such as those suffering from HIV/AIDS since their bodies can no longer fight the bacteria (disease) due to weakened immunity. Due to this susceptibility of HIV patients to TB, Isoniazid preventive therapy is recommended. Vaccination has been the mainstay of prevention of the disease in many countries, with babies being vaccinated in the first weeks of life (World Health Organization. Following diagnosis of TB, the patient is hospitalized and started on a treatment course consisting of four or more drugs. Mostly, the cure of TB takes 6months. Resistant bacterial species that does not respond to drugs commonly used for treatment can emerge, becoming a serious complication requiring special attention. This bacteria can infect all organs in the body except the nails, hair and teeth.

Diagnosis of TB can be done through Chest X-Ray, Sputum smear microscopic tests and culture tests (Knechel, 2009). Treatment of tuberculosis involves administration of several drugs for a long time, this challenges patient compliance thus risking development of drug resistance. For drug sensitive TB (TB that responds to First line drugs), treatment and cure takes six months, divided into two phases. Rifabutin, streptomycin, amikacin, cycloserine, ethionamide levofloxacin, moxifloxacin, kanamycin, clarithromycin and azithromycin are some of the other drugs used when resistance to one or more of the first line drugs develops (Knechel, 2009). Epidemiology TB is a chronic disease that is among the leading causes of death worldwide despite being treatable and curable. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2016, 10. 4 million individuals had active TB disease and 1.

7 million of them died. In 2012, the prevalence of TB was estimated at 12 million which is the same as 169 cases per 100,000 population (Glaziou, Sismanidis, Floyd, & Raviglione, 2014). The prevalence rate of TB is declining all over the world. Determinants of health and how these factors contribute to the development of TB Determinants of health refers to those conditions that make some people healthy and others unhealthy. These factors are social factors, policy making, individual behavior, health services and biology and genetics, the interaction among these factors determine an individual’s health. Social determinants of TB epidemiology include universal socioeconomic inequalities, increased migration, increased urbanization and rapid rise in population. Being male increases the risk of infection as well. Research has shown that smokers and alcoholics are more susceptible to TB infection than non-smokers or those who do not drink (Khaliq, Khan, Akhtar, & Chaudhry, 2015).

Epidemiologic triangle as it relates to disease The Epidemiologic triangle is a scientific model that was developed to help in understanding a disease, the causes, signs and symptoms and transmission. The triangle has vertices each representing a different aspect of disease that is agent, host and environment (Understanding the Epidemiologic Triangle through Infectious Disease, n. d. Many at times, nurses are the first to identify any hints and potential risk factors that could mean TB infection. With the rise of HIV/AIDS thus increased incidence of TB in these patients, nursing skills in finding, treatment, control and care of TB are crucial. (Ghebrehiwet, 2004).  Furthermore, nurses are often the first to realize any complication that may arise in the course of treatment and whether the drugs are effective or not.

Nurses should take it upon themselves to record and report patient progress. There are still a lot of areas on tuberculosis that have not been looked into in depth and need serious research (Mnisi, Peu, & Meyer, 2012). To completely eradicate TB in the world, the public should also be educated on the ways to prevent TB disease such as vaccination and avoiding contact with infected persons. This can only be possible if community health nurses collaborate with other health professionals in organizing health campaigns. National agency or organization addressing Tuberculosis The WHO has been in forefront in management, prevention and eradication of TB in the world. This organization is undertaking in depth research on TB in various countries of the world. • Engaging in partnerships for TB action.

Global implication of the disease TB has for a long time become a global burden. The intensity of the burden being quite high with the poor and disadvantaged populations carrying most of the weight. As though the burden of TB is declining, it is not as fast thus people continue to suffer the consequences of the disease (Raviglione, & Sulis, 2016). Huge financial costs accompany the disease as people seek treatment and become subject to long hospitalization periods. For instance, several countries across the world, have adopted the use of BCG vaccine to prevent TB infection in children whose immunity is even not well developed to resist the disease. The journey towards eliminating TB is however not a smooth one, very many challenges are experienced.