Revista de medicina pulmonar

A CROSS SECTIONAL DESCRIPTIVE STUDY OF THE FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH CHANGES OF LUNG FUNCTION IN PULMONARY TUBERCULOSIS SEQUELAE PATIENTS IN A TERTIARY CARE CENTRE

Sreekaanth Sundarraj

Tuberculosis is a communicable disease and remains the number one cause of death by infectious disease. Evidence of tuberculosis dates back to 700 AD. Robert Koch, a German microbiologist and physician discovered the tuberculosis bacilli in 1882 for which he received the nobel prize in 1905.2 Tuberculosis is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, a slender rod shaped bacilli which is intracellular, non-sporing, non-motile, noncapsulated, facultative, catalase negative, gram positive and acid and alcohol fast. The bacilli are obligate aerobes.3 Increased CO2 tension improves growth and the temperature optimum for growth is 37? and no growth occurs below 25? & also above 40?.4