How A Blood Test Can Help Diagnose Tuberculosis?

Tuberculosis is an airborne communicable disease that mainly affects the lungs. However, it can attack the other organs as well. A tuberculosis infection may be categorised as latent or clinically active. A person is said to be suffering from latent tuberculosis when he or she has been infected with the tuberculosis bacteria, but is protected from the germs by a strong immune system. People showing symptoms of the disease are said to be suffering from a clinically active form of tuberculosis and must seek medical attention as soon as possible.

The symptoms of tuberculosis may be hard to identify as they can be attributed to other causes as well. In some cases, the symptoms may not appear until the disease has reached an advanced stage. Some of the common symptoms associated with this disease are:

1. Weight loss
2. Fever
3. Dry cough
4. Excessive sweating at night
5. Unexplained tiredness
6. Poor appetite
7. Chest pain

People with a weakened immune system such as those suffering from HIV or those undergoing chemotherapy have a high risk of suffering from this condition. When the disease is in its active form, tuberculosis causing bacteria multiply rapidly and attack the lungs. From here they may spread to other parts of the body, such as the lymph nodes, kidneys, bones, spine, brain and skin. When it reaches an advanced stage, the symptoms vary according to the organ affected. For example, pain in the bones indicates that the bone tissues have been affected while coughing up blood is a sign of TB of the lungs.

How Can It Be Diagnosed?

Blood test like Quantiferon TB Gold and Skin test like Mantoux test can detect Tuberculosis infection or Latent Tuberculosis. Diagnosis of TB requires demonstration of TB bacilli on microscopy, detection of DNA of TB bacilli, growth of TB bacilli on special culture media and clinical diagnosis by a doctor after considering patient's history, symptoms and signs, radiological imaging, blood and skin tests as mentioned earlier. TB treatment may include Injection along with oral medications. In some cases incomplete, inappropriate or inadequate treatment may lead to Drug Resistant TB which requires a longer treatment and may be difficult to treat.

Clinically active tuberculosis can be easily treated and cured as long as the patient undergoes the complete course of treatment. Treatment for this disease usually takes the form of oral medication that must be taken for six to nine months continuously. This is because tuberculosis causing bacteria can take a very long time to die. In some cases, multiple drugs may be prescribed to reduce resistance to the drugs. When it comes to tuberculosis it is important to continue taking medication for its full course, even if the symptoms disappear and you are feeling better.