Just over a hundred years ago, tuberculosis was considered a disease that could not be cured. In those days, one epidemic of this disease could take millions of lives with itself, and this depended not only on how strong its pathogen was, but also on the conditions in which people lived. In our time, the achievements of science have allowed us to create not only effective methods of treatment, but also the prevention of this disease. A person began to defeat the disease since Robert Koch discovered the bacterium, the causative agent of tuberculosis, which was named after the great scientist, Koch’s wand, in the late nineteenth century.
Koch's wand causes many terrible diseases that can easily destroy a person. The most common are pulmonary tuberculosis and lymph node tuberculosis. They develop primarily in those people who live in conditions that compel their immunity to constantly resist certain pathogenic microorganisms. Usually those people who lack vitamins suffer from malnutrition. Sometimes tuberculosis can begin after a certain infection, for example, pneumonia, if proper treatment has not been received.
It is noteworthy that today there is a considerable risk of contracting tuberculosis. This is due to the fact that Koch's wand is extremely resistant to many factors that easily kill other microorganisms. The only thing that can cope with this bacterium is exposure to high temperature, direct sunlight and substances containing chlorine. Such bacterial survivability is due to its special structure. It is characterized by the presence of a special cellular structure - a capsule that protects the bacterium from most external influences.
Typically, the causative agent of tuberculosis is transmitted through the saliva or sputum of the patient, which enter the surrounding area when coughing or sneezing. It is worth remembering that according to statistics, the incidence of various types of tuberculosis is about five percent. Therefore, it is not surprising that tuberculosis can be infected in almost any public place. In addition, in the body of each person there is a certain number of Koch sticks, which, however, cannot develop due to the action of immunity. As soon as they get into favorable conditions for themselves, the risk of their development will sharply increase.
An important role in the fight against tuberculosis nowadays is played by various preventive measures. This includes fluorography, which shows changes in lung tissue caused by infection, and a test for tuberculosis, which shows the presence of pathogens in human biological fluids, or the Mantoux reaction, which, however, works properly only in children.
Thus, despite the fact that Koch’s stick is a formidable microorganism capable of destroying huge numbers of people, you can resist it simply by observing a number of rules: proper nutrition, a healthy lifestyle, minimal contact with tuberculosis patients, and regular testing for infection.