What is tuberculosis? (Introduction)

What is tuberculosis?

Tuberculosis - TB, also called "TB rog" or historically "kshaya rog" - is an infection caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It most often attacks the lungs (pulmonary TB), but it can also affect lymph nodes, bones, the brain, the abdomen and other organs (extrapulmonary TB).

India carries the world's largest TB burden - over two million new cases a year - yet the crucial fact is this: TB is completely curable. The standard treatment is a 6-month course of combination medicines, available free of cost through the government's National TB Elimination Programme (NTEP) at every government health centre. What makes TB dangerous is not the disease itself but incomplete treatment: stopping medicines early lets the bacteria become drug-resistant, turning a curable illness into one that needs years of toxic treatment.

Typical symptoms of lung TB: a cough lasting more than two weeks, fever (often in the evenings), drenching night sweats, unexplained weight loss, loss of appetite, and sometimes blood in the sputum. Anyone with these should get a sputum test - it is simple and free at government facilities.

TB spreads through air: when a person with active lung TB coughs, sneezes or speaks, tiny droplets carry the bacteria. It spreads in close, poorly ventilated spaces - which is why family members of a patient should be screened.

Remember: cough over two weeks means a sputum test; if it is TB, a full free course cures it - never stop midway.

Ayurvedic view (interpretive)

Ayurveda's kshaya rog describes a wasting illness resembling TB - a historical parallel. The cure today is the antibiotic course; traditional measures are supportive only.