A Breakthrough in Tuberculosis

In 2010, an article was written detailing the severity of Tuberculosis in the UK, with the Daily Telegraph labelling London as the ‘TB capitol of the world’ with statistics highlighting the drastic rise in the number of diagnoses.  One study has accentuated the fact that one fifth of cases of tuberculosis are resistant to at least one of major drug treatments. Instances of tuberculosis have been falling in recent years but England still maintains one of the highest rates in Europe. Yet, today we have the achievements of researchers in both Oxford and Birmingham to recognise for having a world first breakthrough in the incredibly serious disease.

  First of all, tuberculosis itself is a bacterial infection which is acquired through the inhalation of tiny droplets from sneezes or coughs of an individual who is infected. When a person is healthy, their immune system is able to kill the bacteria and the person won’t feel any symptoms, or the immune system won’t be able to fight the bacteria directly but can prevent it from spreading. Although, when tuberculosis takes full form (active TB), the part of the body it attacks most prominently is the lungs which is known as pulmonary TB, and this is the most contagious type of the infection. However, it is able to impact any other part of the body to some degree also, including the abdomen and nervous system. Some people may not display any symptoms yet the bacteria will still be present in their body; this is referred to as latent TB and is not contagious.

  In a majority of cases, tuberculosis can be cured, done so with a course of antibiotics taken over a six month period. Several forms of TB are resistant to particular antibiotics, therefore a number of antibiotics must be taken to combat this. The problem lies with diagnosing tuberculosis, as patients who are suspected of having the infection have to wait up to a month to know if they have it, which is ample time to for the infection to spread. Fortunately, researchers are now able to employ genome sequencing (identifying the order of nucleotides in a genome) in order to isolate various strains of the disease to know which one a patient is infected with. As a result, patients can be diagnosed and receive the correct medication within a week, significantly reducing recovery time. The research is pertinent as it has allowed for a tighter grip on the disease, serving to improve the lives of many individuals and their families.

With 10 million people worldwide infected with tuberculosis and 1.5 million people losing their lives as a result of it each year, the achievements of the researchers is no small feat. Head of Oxford’s Modernising Microbiology team Professor Derrick Crook commented on the scientific advancement, stating he was proud of ‘the contribution this makes to the prospects of better treatment of TB globally’, also recognising how the breakthrough will not only be helpful in treating tuberculosis but will make it possible to enhance the identification and treatment of other infectious diseases and pathogens which are also resistant.

Please let us know your thoughts on the breakthrough!
Written by Vicale Czan Alfanti

sources:
https://wellcome.ac.uk/news/breakthrough-battle-against-resistant-tb
http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Tuberculosis/Pages/Introduction.aspx#Causes
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-39376641
http://www.nhs.uk/news/2010/12December/Pages/tb-tuberculosis-cases-rise-london-uk.aspx

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