Abstract

GARZA-VELASCO, Raúl; AVILA-DE JESUS, Jacqueline  and  PEREA-MEJIA, Luis Manuel. Pulmonary tuberculosis: The global epidemic continues and the teaching of this topic is crucial and complex. Educ. quím [online]. 2017, vol.28, n.1, pp.38-43. ISSN 0187-893X.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eq.2016.09.009.

Understanding of tuberculosis (TB) requires students to identify some critical points. The disease is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, a peculiar bacterium mainly transmitted by inhaling infectious droplets expelled when coughing, talking and sneezing. One of the least understood aspects is that, following the exposure to the infectious droplets, a third of the people develop a latent pulmonary infection. The last means that some people control, rather than eliminate, the bacteria; therefore, some of them can later develop the TB disease, especially when they present an immunological deficiency. The key is to recognize the cell-mediated immunity as a determining factor in the course of the latent or active infection and that the antibodies, the complement system and the phagocytosis by non-activated macrophages result irrelevant in the defense against TB.

Another major concern is the effect of multidrug resistant and extensively drug resistant strains. Management of multidrug resistant -TB and extensively drug resistant -TB is more complicated due the long treatment periods and the elevated costs.

Keywords : Pulmonary tuberculosis; atent infection; Activated macrophages; Cell-mediated immunity; Delayed hypersensitivity; BCG vaccine; Drug-resistant tuberculosis.

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