Microbial Pathogenesis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis: Dawn of a Discipline

Abstract

“If we ask further what significance belongs to the results tered growth kinetics in experimental animals. This regained in this study of tuberculosis it must be considered view is not intended to comprehensively detail the ina gain for science that it has been possible for the first credible breadth of the mycobacterial literature, but time to establish the complete proof of the parasitic rather to highlight and interpret recent advances and to nature of a human infectious disease, and this of the point to future directions. most important one. So far such proof was established only for anthrax, while in a number of other infectious The Ongoing M. tuberculosis Epidemic diseases in human beings, for example relapsing fever, The global burden of M. tuberculosis infection is overwound infections, leprosy, gonorrhoea, it was only whelming. In addition, Bovine Tuberculosis (caused by known that parasites occur simultaneously with the Mycobacterium bovis) and Leprosy (caused by Mycopathogenic process, but the causal connection between bacterium leprae) remain significant global health probthe two has not been established. It may be expected lems. Recent estimates of Tuberculosis disease burden that the elucidation of the aetiology of tuberculosis will documented approximately 1.86 billion people infected provide new viewpoints for the study of other infectious with M. tuberculosis with 16.2 million cases of active diseases.” disease. These active cases resulted in approximately —Robert Koch, 1882 2 million deaths in 1997, an average global case fatality