Treatment Options for Tuberculosis
The treatment for tuberculosis involves taking several different antibiotics for at least 6 months (and in some cases, up to several years). In most cases, by taking medication, the tuberculosis can be cured.
A
tuberculosis cure relies on close cooperation between the patient and doctor or other health care workers in order to make sure that the right amount of medicine is taken for the right amount of time. If less than the right amount of medicine is taken, or if it is taken for a shorter period of time, a tuberculosis cure is less likely. Furthermore, there is a greater chance a person will develop
drug-resistant TB, a condition that is more difficult to cure.
In 2005, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported 14,093 cases of
active tuberculosis (TB) in the United States. In addition to those with active tuberculosis, an estimated 10 to 15 million people in the United States have latent tuberculosis. On average, about 10 percent of these infected individuals will develop active tuberculosis at some point in their lives. Some underlying conditions increase the risk that latent TB infection will progress to active tuberculosis disease -- the risk can be 3 times higher (as with
diabetes) to more than 100 times higher (as with
HIV infection).
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