Tuberculosis
(TB) is an infectious disease that dates back to ancient and historical times.
Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the primary organism responsible for TB, the
number two single agent infectious disease killer worldwide behind HIV. In
spite of the fact that there are currently effective drugs for the treatment of
TB available, this disease continues to be a global problem. In 2011, there
were an estimated 8.7 million new cases of TB and 1.4 million deaths attributedto TB worldwide.
Treatment of TB is difficult, requires multidrug therapy for
extended periods of time (6-9 months), and is often unsuccessful. The
difficulty in TB treatment is attributed to the slow growth rate and resilience
of the M. tuberculosis organism in adapting to changes in oxygen and nitric
oxide levels, pH, metal ion concentrations, and available nutrients that allow
for mycobacterial survival in host macrophages , as well as the high degree of
drug resistance associated with M. tuberculosis. Read more...................
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