Is there a difference between Mycobacterium tuberculosis and tuberculosis?
If not, can you answer this: Why is tuberculosis such a bad bacteria? and How does it harm? T h a n k Y o u V e r y M u c h ! @theone78- haha! :D
Biology - 5 Answers
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1 :
Your lucky I'm not charging you -- scientists and clinicians have been distinguishing between the human- and animal-adapted members of the M. tuberculosis complex (MTBC). However, all human-adapted strains of MTBC have traditionally been considered to be essentially identical
2 :
mycobacterium tuberculosis causes the disease tuberculosis. It is a bad bacteria because it is so sneaky. I loves to get phagocytosed by the immune system (macrophages), where it basically hides and evades further attack by the immune system. The myciolic acid which coats it is really helpful in adherence to cell surfaces and prevents lysozyme (inside the macrophages) from killing the bacterium. It is an obligate bacteria, which means that it loves areas which are well-aerated and especially upper lobes of the lungs.
3 :
Mycobacterium is the genus name for tuberculosis. Also referred to as M. tuberculosis, tuberculosis, or simply TB. Why is tuberculosis such a bad bacteria? The emergence of drug-resistant forms of tuberculosis in many parts of the world is threatening to make this important human disease incurable. Even though many resources are being invested into the development of new tuberculosis control tools, we still do not know the extent of genetic diversity in tuberculosis bacteria, nor do we understand the evolutionary forces that shape this diversity. Global diversity in tuberculosis strains can be linked to the ancient human migrations out of Africa, as well as to more recent movements that followed the increases of human populations in Europe, India, and China during the past few hundred years. Taken together, the findings suggest that the evolutionary characteristics of tuberculosis bacteria could synergize with the effects of increasing globalization and human travel to enhance the global spread of drug-resistant tuberculosis. How does it harm? TB infection begins when the mycobacteria reach the pulmonary alveoli, where they invade and replicate within alveolar macrophages.[22] The primary site of infection in the lungs is called the Ghon focus. Bacteria are picked up by dendritic cells, which do not allow replication, although these cells can transport the bacilli to local (mediastinal) lymph nodes. Further spread is through the bloodstream to the more distant tissues and organs where secondary TB lesions can develop in lung apices, peripheral lymph nodes, kidneys, brain, and bone. Hope this helps!
4 :
Boy did you ask the right question to the right audience... I work in the medical lab of one of the best hospitals in the country, and oh yeah... my mother is the head of Mycology, the department that handles this nasty little bug. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs (as pulmonary TB) but can also affect the central nervous system, the lymphatic system, the circulatory system, the genitourinary system, the gastrointestinal system, bones, joints, and even the skin. Most infections in human beings will result in asymptomatic, latent infection, and about one in ten latent infections will eventually progress to active disease, which, if left untreated, kills more than half of its victims. As of 2004, 1.6 million deaths, mostly in developing countries. TB is a huge concern for hospitals in particular, and anyone who works in one (like me) must be screened every year for TB infection. The reason is twofold. First, TB can be spread easily and be more deadly with patients who are already sick, or have their immune systems compromised by stuff like AIDS. Secondly, strains of TB have been steadily more drug resistant recently... it's to a point that every case of TB has to be lab-tested for drug sensitivity, just so the doctors know what to hit each case with... and how hard they need to hit it. It's that bad. To learn more, check out wikipedia's entry on tuberculosis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuberculosis
5 :
Tuberculosis is the disease caused by a bacterium called "Mycobacterium". There are several forms of Mycobacterium, and "Mycobacterium tuberculosis" is the particular type that usually causes the tuberculosis disease in humans. There are other types of Mycobacterium, such as "Mycobacterium bovis", that generally do not infect humans. Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a bad bacterium because it mutates to form antibiotic-resistant strains. So when a person is infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis and develops tuberculosis, normal antibiotics will not stop the infection, so the person is more likely to die. Mycobacterium tuberculosis harms its host by invading and infecting immune cells in the lungs, where it replicates and destroys the lung tissue. It also spreads to other organs in the body via the lymph nodes and destroys tissues in those areas also
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