Tuberculosis is what type of infection

The risk of developing active TB is higher in:. Here, learn more about pulmonary TB, which primarily affects the lungs. A person should see a doctor if they experience :. However, a blood test or skin prick test will indicate that they have TB infection.

Active TB : A person with TB disease may experience a cough that produces phlegm, fatigue, a fever, chills, and a loss of appetite and weight. Symptoms typically worsen over time, but they can also spontaneously go away and return. TB usually affects the lungs, though symptoms can develop in other parts of the body. This is more common in people with weakened immune systems. A person with latent TB will have no symptoms, but the infection can show up on tests.

People should ask for a TB test if they:. They will also perform a physical examination, which involves listening to the lungs and checking for swelling in the lymph nodes. However, these cannot indicate whether TB is active or latent.

To test for active TB disease, the doctor may recommend a sputum test and a chest X-ray. Find out how to read TB skin test results here. Treatment for latent TB can vary. It may involve taking an antibiotic once a week for 12 weeks or every day for 9 months.

Treatment for active TB may involve taking several drugs for 6—9 months. When a person has a drug resistant strain of TB, the treatment will be more complex. It is essential to complete the full course of treatment, even if symptoms go away. If a person stops taking their medication early, some bacteria can survive and become resistant to antibiotics.

In this case, the person may go on to develop drug resistant TB. They can spread through the air in droplets when a person with pulmonary TB coughs, sneezes, spits, laughs, or talks.

Only people with active TB can transmit the infection. However, most people with the disease can no longer transmit the bacteria after they have received appropriate treatment for at least 2 weeks.

However, experts in the U. Some of the reasons include a low risk of infection in the country and a high likelihood that the vaccine will interfere with any future TB skin tests. People with weakened immune systems are most likely to develop active TB. The following are some issues that can weaken the immune system. This means that a person with HIV has a higher risk of developing TB and experiencing more severe symptoms than a person with a healthy immune system.

Treatment for TB can be complex in a person with HIV, but a doctor can develop a comprehensive treatment plan that addresses both issues. TB can become a complication of HIV.

HIV weakens a person's immune system, so it can't fight the TB germs. In the United States, because of stronger control programs, tuberculosis began to decrease again in But it remains a concern. Many tuberculosis strains resist the drugs most used to treat the disease.

People with active tuberculosis must take many types of medications for months to get rid of the infection and prevent antibiotic resistance. Although your body can harbor the bacteria that cause tuberculosis, your immune system usually can prevent you from becoming sick. For this reason, doctors make a distinction between:. Tuberculosis can also affect other parts of your body, including the kidneys, spine or brain. When TB occurs outside your lungs, signs and symptoms vary according to the organs involved.

For example, tuberculosis of the spine might cause back pain, and tuberculosis in your kidneys might cause blood in your urine. See your doctor if you have a fever, unexplained weight loss, drenching night sweats or a persistent cough. These are often indications of TB but can also result from other conditions. Also, see your doctor if you think you've been exposed to TB. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that people who have an increased risk of tuberculosis be screened for latent TB infection.

This recommendation includes people who:. Tuberculosis is caused by bacteria that spread from person to person through microscopic droplets released into the air. This can happen when someone with the untreated, active form of tuberculosis coughs, speaks, sneezes, spits, laughs or sings.

Although tuberculosis is contagious, it's not easy to catch. You're much more likely to get tuberculosis from someone you live or work with than from a stranger. Most people with active TB who've had appropriate drug treatment for at least two weeks are no longer contagious.

HIV suppresses the immune system, making it difficult for the body to control TB bacteria. Tuberculosis also remains a major killer because of the increase in drug-resistant strains. The bacteria usually attack the lungs, but TB bacteria can attack any part of the body such as the kidney, spine, and brain. Not everyone infected with TB bacteria becomes sick.

If not treated properly, TB disease can be fatal. Skip directly to site content Skip directly to page options Skip directly to A-Z link.

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