"Tuberculosis (TB) is a disease caused by bacteria that are spread through the air from person to person. If not treated properly, TB disease can be fatal. People infected with TB bacteria who are not sick may still need treatment to prevent TB disease from developing in the future.
Learn to recognize the symptoms of TB disease and find out if you are at risk....
Latent TB Infection and TB Disease
The bacteria that cause TB is spread through the air from person to person when a person with TB disease coughs, speaks, or sings. People nearby may breathe in these bacteria and become infected. There are two types of TB conditions: latent TB infection and TB disease.
TB bacteria can live in the body without making you sick. This is called latent TB infection. In most people who breathe in TB bacteria and become infected, the body is able to fight the bacteria to stop them from growing. People with latent TB infection do not feel sick, do not have any symptoms, and cannot spread TB bacteria to others.
If TB bacteria become active in the body and multiply, the person will go from having latent TB infection to being sick with TB disease. For this reason, people with latent TB infection are often prescribed treatment to prevent them from developing TB disease.
People with TB disease usually have symptoms and may spread TB bacteria to others.
TB bacteria most commonly grow in the lungs, and can cause symptoms such as:
- A bad cough that lasts 3 weeks or longer
- Pain in the chest
- Coughing up blood or sputum (mucus from deep inside the lungs)
Other symptoms of TB disease may include:
- Weakness or fatigue
- Weight loss
- No appetite
- Chills
- Fever
- Sweating at night..."
Tuberculosis
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