Tuberculosis: Causes, Symptoms and Treatments
Richard Socias
BIO 342
Oliver
Mon & Wed 10:30-12:50
4/1/2012
Reflection Paper I decided to do my project on pulmonary tuberculosis because a disease that can be transmissible from human to human through a simple talk, sneeze, or cough seemed to interest me. Also, as I was growing up, the TB test I was given during my physicals scared me to death because I didn’t know what the nurses were putting into my arm until now. Doing this project made me realize what tuberculosis really was and that it was a bacteria that kept mutating to stay resistant to the drugs that are being used to treat it. This project also made me realize what one of my close friend’s uncles had to go through because he was diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis about 3 years ago. This project gave me knowledge of what scientist and researchers are working on to lessen the chance of an epidemic or simply the chance of one person being diagnosed with TB. Such as, looking into the bacteria just to figure out how it works or how it can just stay in a person’s body then is active in the future to produce a vaccine or other medications to treat active and latent TB patients. Also how researchers and scientist are finding ways to easily diagnose and tell who and who may not have the bacteria. Through much research I found many images and descriptions of damage that can be done to the body if TB was not treated properly or not even treated at all. Images mainly of damaged lungs with holes in them, people coughing harshly or coughing up blood. I also found images that show how the bacteria can be transmitted from person to person like people just having a simple talk with each other, a person sneezing or coughing without covering their mouth and another image were a person is just breathing all of which are able to transmit the disease and take it in. As I was doing my research I came across many articles of how the world is trying to prevent an outbreak of tuberculosis. I learned that
BIO 342
Oliver
Mon & Wed 10:30-12:50
4/1/2012
Reflection Paper I decided to do my project on pulmonary tuberculosis because a disease that can be transmissible from human to human through a simple talk, sneeze, or cough seemed to interest me. Also, as I was growing up, the TB test I was given during my physicals scared me to death because I didn’t know what the nurses were putting into my arm until now. Doing this project made me realize what tuberculosis really was and that it was a bacteria that kept mutating to stay resistant to the drugs that are being used to treat it. This project also made me realize what one of my close friend’s uncles had to go through because he was diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis about 3 years ago. This project gave me knowledge of what scientist and researchers are working on to lessen the chance of an epidemic or simply the chance of one person being diagnosed with TB. Such as, looking into the bacteria just to figure out how it works or how it can just stay in a person’s body then is active in the future to produce a vaccine or other medications to treat active and latent TB patients. Also how researchers and scientist are finding ways to easily diagnose and tell who and who may not have the bacteria. Through much research I found many images and descriptions of damage that can be done to the body if TB was not treated properly or not even treated at all. Images mainly of damaged lungs with holes in them, people coughing harshly or coughing up blood. I also found images that show how the bacteria can be transmitted from person to person like people just having a simple talk with each other, a person sneezing or coughing without covering their mouth and another image were a person is just breathing all of which are able to transmit the disease and take it in. As I was doing my research I came across many articles of how the world is trying to prevent an outbreak of tuberculosis. I learned that