How is tuberculosis transmitted?

Despite the fact that the mechanisms of development and spread of tuberculosis are thoroughly studied, and the medical preparations for its treatment are constantly being improved, it has not been possible to completely defeat the disease until now. Moreover, recently the number of patients is increasing.

One of the measures to prevent this pathology is the awareness of the population not only about the first symptoms of the disease, but also about how TB is transmitted. Such knowledge often helps to avoid infection or identify the disease at an early stage.

Is TB transmitted by airborne droplets?

Most often, the disease under consideration extends through the ambient air. Infected with a tuberculosis bacterium, a person who coughs produces fine sputum particles containing up to 3,000 pathogenic sticks, which has a spray radius of about 1.5 m.

How else is pulmonary tuberculosis transmitted?

The described pathology is provoked by about 74 varieties of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. All of them are very resistant to various environmental conditions. Thus, the tubercle bacillus can remain viable outside the body, especially at the appropriate temperature.

On the sidewalks and benches, bacteria exist for about 10 days, between pages of books they remain active for up to 90 days, and in water for more than 5 months. Dried in favorable conditions, sticks (at a temperature of 29 to 42 degrees) are viable even after 1.5 years, and if they are frozen, the bacteria exist up to 30 years.

Given the above facts, it is not surprising that there are other ways in which tuberculosis is transmitted:

  1. Vertically (intrauterine way). Chronic forms of the disease and extensive lesions of mycobacterium, as well as reduced immunity to a future mother, increase the risk of infection of the fetus. It is important to carry out the diagnosis in a timely manner - to examine the placenta (the latter) immediately after the birth of the baby.
  2. With food and drinks. Dairy products and meat of animals, fish infected with tuberculosis, cause penetration of pathogenic rods into the human body. This problem is especially relevant when buying products "from scratch" in spontaneous markets or at unauthorized points of sale.
  3. Direct contact. You can get sick through kisses, by using common utensils, towels, toys, bed linen, any household items and even books. In addition, tuberculosis is transmitted from sick pets - cats, guinea pigs, dogs, hamsters, rats and birds. Insects (flies, cockroaches) also act as peddlers.
  4. Biological fluids. Mycobacteria are present in the secretions of the genital organs and the blood of an infected person, so infection often occurs after unprotected sex, blood transfusions , surgical operations or accidental contact with open wounds, abrasions.

It is worth noting that there are 2 forms of tuberculosis, on which the probability of infection with a rod depends.

How is an open form of tuberculosis transmitted?

The most dangerous is the open form of pathology. With this form of tuberculosis, the infection is spread by all the above methods, since pathogenic mycobacteria are active in this case, they remain viable even outside the carrier's body.

How is tuberculosis of closed form transmitted?

Closed tuberculosis is not contagious, the rods do not stand out in the environment, multiplying only in the lungs of a sick person. However, over time, this form of the disease can progress, resulting in pathology becoming active (open).