The risk of a disease can sometimes be boosted by from an unsuspected source. As far as tuberculosis is concerned, the unsuspected source is diabetes. TB is a disease that is widely and commonly prevalent worldwide. However, it is mistakenly thought of as something that is fairly uncommon in the US.
Tuberculosis is an airborne, contagious, bacterial and fatal disease that despite its threat is unknown to a lot of people who even have it. Drug-resistant varieties of the disease throw an even more threat considering the treatment they require is lengthy and more than a few times, toxic. The biggest risk for tuberculosis today, is not HIV/AIDS, but diabetes. This is because diabetes impairs the immune system in such a way that it leaves the patient with a higher risk of contracting tuberculosis one he/she is exposed to it.
In about 20 to 30 percent of the TB cases in California and Pacific Northwest, the culprit can be traced to diabetes. A lot of experts are unaware of the fact that diabetes patients cannot tolerate TB medicines well because of their already compromised immune system and the possibility of complexities arising from the consumption. Diabetics also have a problem in completing the treatment as they take longer to be cured and are highly likely to relapse, develop drug-resistant tuberculosis and even die.
Article source: CNN
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