What are the signs and symptoms of TB?
Tuberculosis (TB) is a bacterial infection that was a major cause of death in the United States until the 20th century. It continues to kill over 2 million people in the world each year, mostly in impoverished countries that lack basic public health systems. TB can affect any part of the body, and the signs and symptoms of TB can widely vary, from mild to very severe. Most people with TB do show some abnormality on a chest X-ray. However, a small minority can have TB infection in a site other than the lung and have a normal chest X-ray. People usually get infected with TB by living or spending time in close proximity with an infected person, who coughs the bacteria into the air. The TB bacteria are inhaled and spread from the lungs throughout the entire body. This is called primary TB infection. In most cases, there are no symptoms at all, and the immune system walls away the infection somewhere in the body into an inactive state called latent TB. In some cases, however, people with pr
• Prolonged cough Hear a typical TB cough • Weight loss • Fevers • Sweating at night • Feeling weak or tired Symptoms of TB of the lungs may include bad cough (lasting longer than 2 weeks), chest pain or spitting up blood. Other symptoms depend on the particular part of the body that is affected. How can I tell if I have TB? First, get a TB skin test. This is the only way to tell if you have TB infection. If it is positive, you will be given other tests to see if you have TB infection or TB disease. What is the difference between TB infection and TB disease? People with TB infection (without disease) have the germ that causes TB in their body. They may have been carrying this germ for a short or a very long time, but they are not sick because the germ lies inactive in the body. The body’s strong immune system has the germs under control. While the TB germs are inactive in your body, they cannot hurt you and you cannot spread them to other people. In fact, if you are infected by the TB
Tuberculosis (TB) is a bacterial infection that was a major cause of death in the United States until the 20th century. It continues to kill over 2 million people in the world each year, mostly in impoverished countries that lack basic public health systems. TB can affect any part of the body, and the signs and symptoms of TB can widely vary, from mild to very severe. Most people with TB do show some abnormality on a chest X-ray. However, a small number can have TB infection somewhere other than the lung and have a normal chest X-ray. People usually get infected with TB by living or spending time in close proximity with an infected person, who coughs the bacteria into the air. The TB bacteria are inhaled and spread from the lungs throughout the entire body. This is called primary TB infection. In most cases, there are no symptoms at all, and the immune system walls away the infection somewhere in the body into an inactive state called latent TB. In some cases, however, people with prim
