Tuberculosis, more popularly called TB, is a respiratory system illness that leaves people coughing up blood. This contagious disease, which stems from the infections bacteria known as Mycobacterium tuberculosis or Mtb kills over 2 million people each year.

Because the illness is highly contagious, scientists have a general understanding of how TB works. However, researchers at the Immunity and Infection Research Center at Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute and the University of British Columbia have showed that current understanding is only the tip of the iceberg as the bacteria, Mtb, has its own way of infiltrating the body.

What the researchers found is that Mtb can produce a specific protein that allows it to defuse the human body's security system. What TB actually does to the body is completely mislead the immune system and convince the body that the illness is not there, explained Yossef Av-Gay, research scientist with the Immunity and Infection Research Center.

Av-Gay detailed that macrophages - which are dedicated immune cells that identifies and defeats dangerous microorganisms - engulf bacteria and contain them in an enclosed secluded environment. But when it comes to Mtb, when they get engulfed by the macrophages, they secrete a protein that disables the immune cells functions.

This permits the bacteria to live comfortable inside the cell, like a Trojan horse, and multiply freely. The bacteria then gets released after multiplying, effectively attacking the body.

With this discovery and learning about the tricks that the TB bacterium uses, Av-Gay noted that new drugs can be developed against the fatal disease.

What should be remembered with TB is that it is highly contagious. In order to prevent the disease spreading, All4NaturalHealth.com suggested some ways to stop it from going around:

1. Isolate and treat patients who are suffering from TB effectively

2. Relatives and friends who have been in contact with a patient diagnosed with TB should be cautious and seek medical advice

3. Interaction with those who have TB is only encouraged after 2 weeks of treatment

4. People with persistent cough should eat well and get exposed to the morning sunlight, and if it persists, consult a doctor

5. Keep the body healthy