Pott Disease

Excerpt

Tuberculosis (TB), as a disease has been known since ancient times. It was described as early as 1000 to 600 BCE as "Yakshama" in ancient Indian medical literature as well as the Sushruta Samhita and Charaka Samhita. In 1779, Sir Percival Pott described the tubercular disease of the spinal column presenting clinically with kyphotic deformity and neurological deficit in European patients. Later, during the 19th and 20th centuries, the discovery of the underlying pathogenic microorganism (Mycobacterium tuberculosis), development of Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine, advancements made in the diagnostic modalities, chemotherapeutic agents, and surgical procedures had vastly revolutionized the management of spinal tuberculosis and provided the humanity with much better protection against this debilitating illness.

Recently the disease has shown a significant resurgence in developed nations, particularly among the immunosuppressed population secondary to a "global migration phenomenon." This has posed a stiff challenge to the global community. There has been an ominous, increasing trend in the occurrence of multidrug-resistant bacterial strains of tuberculosis in the developing nations over the past decades. For these reasons, the disease continues to exist as a major, global public health menace to date.