How is Latent TB different biologically from the active TB since they need different treatment?!


Question: How is Latent TB different biologically from the active TB since they need different treatment.?
I do understand what latent TB is but what I don't understand is why it needs different treatment than active TB. Why don't we use the same antibiotic treatment in latent and active TB since the antibiotics will kill the bacteria anyway.?
Latent is formed when the bacteria enters the body but it is controlled by immune system. How immune system is able to control it but not eradicate it.?Health Question & Answer


Answers:
TB can manifest in all kinds of ways but I think you are interested in the way TB can go dormant. The immune system fights the infection in the lungs and then surrounds the surviving bacteria with white blood cells. These cells form a ball around the clumps of bacteria and then are covered over by calcium leaving little calcium balls with TB centers in the upper lobes of the lungs. The TB organism is very slow growing and can stay alive an extremely long time. When something happens that causes one of the balls hanging in the lung to fall and break open, the bacteria are released and may manifest an infection again. This can happen years after the first infection. A chest X ray will either show these calcium balls (guma) or the places where they were because the lung tissue is destroyed in a ball pattern. When the inrfection is latent in the little balls it is much harder to destroy since it's walled off from the body. Hope this helps some!Health Question & Answer

I have latent TB. I was on Izoniazid (sp.?) for 10 months. I hated being on it because I couldn't drink any alcohol (I just turned 21 at the time). In the long run it was worth it. I never got sick and it's been 6 years. When you have actual TB, they treat you with a cocktail of medications. With latent TB, they don't want to overload your system with too many unnecessary pills. If you have latent TB, your chances of contracting TB are 10%. With treatment, it goes down to 1%. It sounds worth while to me. Hope this helped.Health Question & Answer



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