[The natural story of tuberculosis]

Rev Prat. 2012 Apr;62(4):479-80, 483-6.
[Article in French]

Abstract

Tuberculosis is one of the infectious diseases that had a huge impact on the health of the populations since the XVIIth century, and this remains true for most of the people in the World in 2012. Its natural story involves: contamination (inhalation of infectious particles, the Pflügge droplets, originating from a patient with bacillary tuberculosis); primary infection (remarkable by initial unresponsiveness of the immune system, followed by strong cellular immunity development within 3 to 9 weeks); latent tuberculosis infection, non-contagious and totally asymptomatic, with efficient control of tuberculosis bacilli replication, lasting for life in more than 90% of cases; and less frequently, tuberculosis disease in patients with insufficient immunity, including children less than 5 years, immunocompromised, and patients recently infected.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Host-Pathogen Interactions / immunology
  • Humans
  • Immunity, Innate / physiology
  • Latent Tuberculosis / diagnostic imaging
  • Latent Tuberculosis / immunology
  • Models, Biological
  • Mycobacterium tuberculosis / immunology
  • Radiography
  • Tuberculosis / diagnostic imaging
  • Tuberculosis / etiology*
  • Tuberculosis / immunology
  • Tuberculosis / transmission*