Scientists warn that tuberculosis can spread via breathing as well

4 min read

In the past, there has been a belief that Tuberculosis (TB) is spread through coughing, sneezing, speaking and laughing. In spite of this, a new study published in The Sun has found that even breathing can spread TB germs, according to the newspaper.

Aside from COVID-19, TB is one of the most deadly diseases on the planet. Via air, it spreads to the lungs. There are several symptoms associated with this illness, including coughing, fever, and loss of appetite.

Four out of five people who test positive for TB, who are published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, do not show any symptoms of the illness, which was previously thought to be the key symptom of the disease.

According to studies, it has been discovered that people can be infected by a killer bug by simply breathing close to someone who is infected with it.

Professor Frank Cobelens, who teaches Global Health at Amsterdam University Medical Center and is the author of the study, explained that “a persistent cough is a common entry point for a diagnosis, but if 80% of those with tuberculosis do not have a persistent cough, it means that a diagnosis may not take place until much later, possibly after the infection has already been spread to many others, or perhaps never at all.”

There were more than 600,000 people who participated in the study, which analysed data from 12 countries, and it was found that 82.8% of the people with TB did not have signs of persistent coughs, while 62.5% of those with no cough had no symptoms at all.

According to Frank, after reviewing the results, doctors should find new ways of diagnosing the disease to ensure cases do not go unnoticed in the future.

“It becomes evident when we take into account all of these factors that we need to really rethink the way we identify patients with tuberculosis when we consider all of these factors at once, as current practices, particularly in the most resource-poor settings, will likely miss large numbers of patients with the disease.”

There has been an increase in cases of tuberculosis in the United States in 2022 compared to 2021, as reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Timenews1 provided that news.

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