Lecture objectives

  1. Recognise mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative organism of tuberculosis, and describe its mode of transmission
  2. Outline the immune response to mycobacterium tuberculosis organisms, an example of type IV hypersensitivity and recognise the granuloma as the hallmark of TB infection
  3. Describe the pathological features of primary pulmonary TB, namely, the Ghon complex and list the possible outcomes following primary infection, including miliary TB
  4. Describe the pathogenesis and pathological features of secondary, reactivation, reinfection pulmonary TB
  5. Describe the pathogenetic and morphology of extra pulmonary ot isolated organ TUberculosis
  6. Describe the principles of diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis

Context

TB is a worldwide, historical disease

Tuberculosis: causative organism

Mycobacterium Tuberculosis

Transmittion is through aerosolised particlues prolonged contact is needed for transmittion miliary TB alone is not transmitable directly latent infection is not infectious

upon exposure only 30% are nfected and only 5-10% develop active disease

BCG vaccine uses attenuated bovis strain

Pathogenesis

M. Tuberculosis travels deep into lung and get phagcytosed by alveolar macrophages. they reproduce intracellularly bacterial proliferation within lung leads to bacteraemia and seeding of organs. most people within this are asymptomatic

about 3 weeks after infection T cell mediated response begins

mycobacterial antigens in the hilar lymph nodes lead the T-cells to differentiate into Th1 cells which make IFN-y this makes macrophages fight better and longer

granulomas

Activated macrophages called epithelioid cells form TB granulomas to contain TB (contain langhans giant cells)

Granulomas develop central caseous necrosis as a result of immune response

granulomatous infection is a type os chronic inflammation they can be present in deveral diseases and can even be formed as a reaction to a foreign body example of type 4 hypersensetivity

Primary infection - Ghon complex

area of primary infection in the lung that develops granulomsas and caseous infeciton is called the ghon focus. hilar lymph nodes also develop granulomas and along with the ghon focus form the ghon complex

possible outcomes after primary infeciton

you can either get better or get latent disease. Primary complex can lead to progressive primary tb which can lead to miliary TB Miliary TB is seeding of tb and granulomas all over the body

secondary TB is reactivation and following immune response this can also be called chronic fibrocaseuas TB

Sometimes miliary tb can become secondary tb without pulmonary symptoms

isolated organ TB can be seen in any tissue or gan

lymph nodes are the most likely location for ExPul tb (historically known as scrofula)

potts disease si tuberculous osteomyelitis

you can also get tuberculous meningitits (look for granulomas)

diagnosis of TB

definite diagnosis is isolationof organisms from sputum sample or a tissue sample from infected extrapulmonary site

clinical findingd consisten with active pulmonary diease ( night sweats with fever) chest x ray mantoux test (tuberculin skin test) or interferon gamma release assay