Is tuberculosis an infectious and contagious disease that can be treated?
Tuberculosis is an infectious disease caused by germs that are spread from person to person through the air. Tuberculosis disease can be cured by taking several drugs for 6 to 12 months. It is very important that people who have tuberculosis disease finish the medicine, and take the drugs exactly as prescribed. If they stop taking the drugs too soon, they can become sick again; if they do not take the drugs correctly, the germs that are still alive may become resistant to those drugs. Tuberculosis that is resistant to drugs is harder and more expensive to treat. < go back > How does a person get TB? A person can become infected with tuberculosis bacteria when he or she inhales minute particles of infected sputum from the air. The bacteria get into the air when someone who has a tuberculosis lung infection coughs, sneezes, shouts, or spits (which is common in some cultures). People who are nearby can then possibly breathe the bacteria into their lungs. You don’t get TB by just touching
