Tuberculosis, causes, symptoms ,cures and more

What Are the Symptoms of TB?

A person with TB infection will have no symptoms. A person with active TB disease may have any or all of the following symptoms:
A persistent cough
Constant fatigue
Weight loss
Loss of appetite
Fever
Coughing up blood
Night sweats

These symptoms can also occur with other diseases so it is important to see a healthcare provider and to let them find out if you have TB. A person with TB disease may feel perfectly healthy or may only have a cough from time to time. If you think you have been exposed to TB, get a TB test.
What Causes TB

Tuberculosis is an infection caused by bacteria. It's spread through the air—when an infected person coughs, sneezes, laughs, etc. However, it is not easy to become infected with tuberculosis. Usually a person has to be close to someone with TB disease for a long period of time. TB is usually spread between family members, close friends, and people who work or live together. TB is spread most easily in closed spaces over a long period of time.

Most cases of active TB result from the activation of latent TB infections or old infections in people with impaired immune systems. People with clinically active TB will often but not always display symptoms and can spread the disease to others.
What Are the Risk Factors of TB?

The chances of getting infected by the TB germ are highest for people that are in close contact with others who are infected. This includes:
Family and friends of a person with infectious TB disease
Persons who have immigrated from areas of the world with high rates of TB
People in groups with high rates of TB transmission, including the homeless persons, injection drug users, and people living with HIV infection
People who work or reside in facilities or institutions that house people who are at high risk for TB such as hospitals, homeless shelters, correctional facilities, nursing homes, and residential homes for those with HIV

Not everyone who is infected with the TB germ (latent TB) develops clinically active TB disease. People at highest risk for developing active TB disease are those with a weak immune system, including:
Babies and young children, whose immune systems have not matured
People with chronic conditions such as diabetes or kidney disease
People with HIV/AIDS
Organ transplant recipients
Cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy
People receiving certain specialized treatments for autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis or Crohn's disease
Preventing Tuberculosis

If you have become infected with TB, but do not have active TB disease, you may get preventive therapy. This treatment kills germs that are not doing any damage right now, but could so do in the future. The most common preventive therapy is a daily dose of the medicine isoniazid (INH) for 6 to 9 months.

If you take your medicine as instructed by your healthcare provider, it can keep you from developing active TB disease.

There is a vaccine against TB called BCG, or bacillus Calmette-Guerin. It is used in many foreign countries where TB is more common. However, it is not used very often in the United States because the chances of being infected with TB in the U.S. is low. It can also make TB skin tests less accurate. Recent evidence has shown that BCG is effective at reducing the incidence of TB in children by about half in populations with a high prevalence of active TB but is much less effective in adults.
When to See Your Doctor

A person who suspects that he or she may have TB should get tested by and notify their doctor or health department.

Learn more about diagnosing and

What Are the Symptoms of TB?

A person with TB infection will have no symptoms. A person with active TB disease may have any or all of the following symptoms:
A persistent cough
Constant fatigue
Weight loss
Loss of appetite
Fever
Coughing up blood
Night sweats

These symptoms can also occur with other diseases so it is important to see a healthcare provider and to let them find out if you have TB. A person with TB disease may feel perfectly healthy or may only have a cough from time to time. If you think you have been exposed to TB, get a TB test.
What Causes TB

Tuberculosis is an infection caused by bacteria. It's spread through the air—when an infected person coughs, sneezes, laughs, etc. However, it is not easy to become infected with tuberculosis. Usually a person has to be close to someone with TB disease for a long period of time. TB is usually spread between family members, close friends, and people who work or live together. TB is spread most easily in closed spaces over a long period of time.

Most cases of active TB result from the activation of latent TB infections or old infections in people with impaired immune systems. People with clinically active TB will often but not always display symptoms and can spread the disease to others.
What Are the Risk Factors of TB?

The chances of getting infected by the TB germ are highest for people that are in close contact with others who are infected. This includes:
Family and friends of a person with infectious TB disease
Persons who have immigrated from areas of the world with high rates of TB
People in groups with high rates of TB transmission, including the homeless persons, injection drug users, and people living with HIV infection
People who work or reside in facilities or institutions that house people who are at high risk for TB such as hospitals, homeless shelters, correctional facilities, nursing homes, and residential homes for those with HIV

Not everyone who is infected with the TB germ (latent TB) develops clinically active TB disease. People at highest risk for developing active TB disease are those with a weak immune system, including:
Babies and young children, whose immune systems have not matured
People with chronic conditions such as diabetes or kidney disease
People with HIV/AIDS
Organ transplant recipients
Cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy
People receiving certain specialized treatments for autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis or Crohn's disease
Preventing Tuberculosis

If you have become infected with TB, but do not have active TB disease, you may get preventive therapy. This treatment kills germs that are not doing any damage right now, but could so do in the future. The most common preventive therapy is a daily dose of the medicine isoniazid (INH) for 6 to 9 months.

If you take your medicine as instructed by your healthcare provider, it can keep you from developing active TB disease.

There is a vaccine against TB called BCG, or bacillus Calmette-Guerin. It is used in many foreign countries where TB is more common. However, it is not used very often in the United States because the chances of being infected with TB in the U.S. is low. It can also make TB skin tests less accurate. Recent evidence has shown that BCG is effective at reducing the incidence of TB in children by about half in populations with a high prevalence of active TB but is much less effective in adults.
When to See Your Doctor

A person who suspects that he or she may have TB should get tested by and notify their doctor or health department.




If it is not treated, TB can be fatal. But TB can almost always be treated and cured if you take medicine as directed by your healthcare provider. Once you begin treatment, within weeks you will no longer be contagious. That means you can't spread the disease to others. If you take your medicine just as your healthcare provider tells you, you should be cured (although there are occasional relapses, indicating some of the germs may survive.)
How Is TB Diagnosed?

TB can be detected through a skin test or a TB blood test.

The skin test is done by injecting a small amount of fluid called tuberculin into the skin in the arm. You will be told to return within 48 to 72 hours to have a healthcare worker check the arm to see if a bump or an induration (thickening) of the skin has developed. These may be difficult to feel and an experienced healthcare worker should examine the reaction. The healthcare worker will measure the bump or induration and tell you if your reaction to the test is positive or negative. If it's positive, it usually means you have been infected with the TB germ.

The TB blood test measures how your immune system reacts to the germs that cause TB. If you have a positive test for TB infection, it only means that you have been infected with TB germs. It does not tell whether you have developed clinically active TB disease. You will be given other tests, such as a chest X-ray and a check of your sputum (coughed up mucus), to see whether you have clinically activeTB disease.
How Is TB Treated?

Treatment for TB depends on whether a person has clinically active TB disease or only TB infection.

If you have become infected with TB, but do not have clinically active TB disease (this is called latent TB), you should get preventive therapy. This treatment kills germs that are not doing any damage right now, but could so do in the future. The most common preventive therapy is a daily dose of isoniazid (INH) taken as a single daily pill for 6 to 9 months.

If you have active TB disease you will probably be treated with a combination of several drugs for 6 to 12 months. You may only have to stay a short time in the hospital, if at all, and can then continue taking medication at home. After a few weeks you can probably even return to normal activities and not have to worry about infecting others.

The most common treatment for active TB is INH plus three other drugs—rifampin, pyrazinamide and ethambutol. You will probably begin to feel better only a few weeks after starting to take the drugs.

It is very important that you continue to take the medicine correctly (regularly and under medical supervision) for the full length of treatment. If you are being treated in a public clinic you may be asked to take your medicines in the presence of a healthcare worker who will ensure that you have done so. This is called Directly Observed Therapy (DOT).
Drug-Resistant TB

If you take the medicine(s) incorrectly or stop taking the medicine(s) altogether, you may become sick again and will be able to infect others with TB. The TB may be harder to treat a second time if it has become drug resistant. This means that some drugs initially used to treat TB will no longer be able to fight the TB germs in your body. TB that is resistant to more than one drug, called multidrug-resistant TB(MDR TB) is very dangerous to you and to others to whom you can spread the infection.
Take Action

Help fight for better ways to diagnose, treat and prevent TB. Contact your representatives in Washington today to urge them to fully fund critical TB programs.
Living With Tuberculosis

What to Expect

Take Action

Help fight for better ways to diagnose, treat and prevent TB.

You will need regular checkups to make sure your treatment is working.

You must finish your medicine and take the drugs exactly as prescribed. If you stop taking the drugs too soon you can become sick again and potentially spread the disease to others around you. If you do not take the drugs correctly, the TB germs that are still alive can become resistant to the drugs.

Sometimes the drugs used to treat TB can cause side effects. If you are taking medicine for preventive therapy or for active TB disease let your doctor know if you begin having any unusual symptoms. Side effects of TB drugs depend on the individual drugs and a person's sensitivity to those drugs. They can include:
no appetite
nausea
vomiting
yellowish skin or eyes
fever for 3 or more days
abdominal pain
tingling fingers or toes
skin rash
easy bleeding
aching joints
dizziness
tingling or numbness around the mouth
easy bruising
blurred or changed vision
ringing in the ears
hearing loss
Managing the Disease
Tips for Taking TB Medicine

Drug-Resistant TB

If you take the medicine incorrectly or stop taking it, you may become sick again and will be able to infect others with TB. The TB may be harder to treat a second time if it has become drug resistant. Learn more.

If you are taking TB medicine on your own, without DOT, it's important to get into a routine. Here are some ways to help you remember to take your TB medicine:
Take your medicine at the same time every day. For example, you can take it before breakfast, or after you brush your teeth.
Ask someone in your family or a friend to remind you to take your medicine.
Each day when you take your medicine mark it off on a calendar.
Get a weekly pill dispenser that has a section for each day of the week. Put your pills in it.
Ask your healthcare provider what you should do if you forget to take your pills.

If you and your doctors have any concerns about you being able to manage your medicine on your own, you may need to work with a healthcare worker who will make sure you are taking your medicine correctly. This is called Directly Observed Therapy (DOT).
Don't Spread Your TB

If you have active TB disease, it will take a few weeks of treatment before you can't spread TB bacteria to others. Until your healthcare provider tells you to go back to your daily routine, here are ways to protect yourself and others near you:
Take your medicine exactly as the healthcare provider directed.
When you cough, sneeze or laugh, cover your mouth with a tissue. Put the tissue in a closed bag and throw it away.
Do not go to work or school until your healthcare provider says it's OK to go back. Avoid close contact with anyone. Sleep in a bedroom alone.
Air out your room often so the TB germs don't stay in the room and infect someone who breathes the air.