Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsSymptomsCausesDiagnosisTreatment
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Symptoms
Causes
Diagnosis
Treatment
Antibiotics are used fortuberculosis, though treatment is not always simple or effective. TB is not something that is typically vaccinated against in the United States and it can be fatal if left untreated.
Brief History
TB has been around for tens of thousands of years. It was often called “consumption” because of the dramatic weight loss it can cause. Before the 1940s, when the antibioticstreptomycinbecame available, there wasn’t much that could be done for the illness. Fresh air, good nutrition, and sunlight were thought to be helpful but didn’t always work. In some cases, healthcare providers attempted to remove a diseased lung. From the 17th through the 19th centuries, it is believed that one in five people died from tuberculosis.
Still a leading killer worldwide, tuberculosis is less prevalent in the United States than it used to be. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 9,029 new cases of TB were reported in the United States in 2018.
Verywell / Emily Roberts
Tuberculosis Symptoms
When a healthy person gets infected with TB, their immune system cells will usually wall off the infection and cause the TB bacteria to go into an inactive form that causes no symptoms and is not contagious; this is known as latent TB infection. It is possible to live with latent TB without ever developing the active form of the disease.
If the immune system is weakened, however, the infection can become active, causing symptoms and contagious disease. About 5% to 10% of infected people who do not receive treatment for latent TB infection will develop TB disease at some time in their lives.
The signature symptom of active TB is a bad cough that produces blood-tinged phlegm and can last three or more weeks.Other symptomsinclude chest pain, fatigue, loss of appetite, weight loss, fever, chills, and night sweats.
Tuberculosis is an airborne disease,spread primarily via dropletsreleased into the air after a contagious person coughs, spits, or sneezes. The risk for infection is greatest for those who spend long periods of time in closed environments—such as an airplane, bus, or small living space—with infected people.
TB is a serious health problem in many countries, especially developing ones. It has been called a “disease of poverty” because it is more prevalent in places with challenging socioeconomic conditions that lead to a crowded living, malnutrition, and more. While tuberculosis is less prevalent in the United States, it remains a problem in hospitals, prisons, and homeless shelters, where crowded conditions prevail.
Those with weakened immune systems are especially at risk for TB. This includes children, the elderly, those with an immune-compromising disease or condition (like HIV), those takingimmunosuppressive drugs(such as in the treatment of an autoimmune disease or after an organ transplant), and people undergoing cancer treatment.
What Is Tuberculosis?
If you suspect that you have active TB, call your healthcare provider toarrange for a TB test. The most commonly used one is the interferon-gamma release assays (IGRAs) test, a blood test that measures a person’s immune reactivity toM. tuberculosis.
If you do test positive, you will undergo further testing, including a chest X-ray and a bacterial culture or microscopic examination of coughed-up sputum (phlegm).
If you don’t have any symptoms, but think you may have been exposed to TB, you can also request a TB test to detect latent TB infection. Annual testing may be recommended if you are at continued risk of exposure.
How Tuberculosis is Diagnosed
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It is very important to follow your healthcare provider’s instructions for TB treatment, even after symptoms subside. The full course of antibiotics is necessary to kill all of the TB bacteria. Failure to complete the full course can lead to ineffective treatment, longer duration of the illness, and antibiotic-resistant TB, the treatment options for which are less effective and have more side effects than first-line drugs.
How Tuberculosis is Treated
Preventing Transmission
If you receive a positive diagnosis of active tuberculosis, you will be instructed not to attend work or school until your healthcare provider determines you are no longer contagious (usually about two to three weeks after starting treatment, but this may take up to six weeks). Until then, keep your distance from people with whom you have regular contact. Remember to cough into a tissue and discard it in a sealed bag.
In many cases, patients with active TB are evaluated and treated in special hospital isolation rooms that are pressurized to limit exposure to others.
After release from the hospital, public health officials will provide you with guidelines for returning to work or school. People with whom you have had contact should be tested for infection.
A Word From Verywell
While being diagnosed with active tuberculosis can be frightening, the prognosis is good. Most cases of TB are treatable and curable as long as you follow your healthcare provider’s instructions and take your medicines exactly as prescribed.
Symptoms of Tuberculosis (TB)
6 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Talwar A, Tsang CA, Price SF, et al.Tuberculosis — United States, 2018.MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2019;68:257–262. doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm6811a2Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Tuberculosis risk factors.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Testing for tuberculosis.US Preventive Services Task Force, Mangione CM, Barry MJ, et al.Screening for latent tuberculosis infection in adults: US preventive services task force recommendation statement.JAMA. 2023;329(17):1487-1494. doi:10.1001/jama.2023.4899Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Treatment for TB disease.American Lung Association.Treating and managing tuberculosis.Additional ReadingCenters for Disease Control. Division of Tuberculosis Elimination.Tuberculosis (TB).World Health Organization.Tuberculosis.
6 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Talwar A, Tsang CA, Price SF, et al.Tuberculosis — United States, 2018.MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2019;68:257–262. doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm6811a2Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Tuberculosis risk factors.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Testing for tuberculosis.US Preventive Services Task Force, Mangione CM, Barry MJ, et al.Screening for latent tuberculosis infection in adults: US preventive services task force recommendation statement.JAMA. 2023;329(17):1487-1494. doi:10.1001/jama.2023.4899Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Treatment for TB disease.American Lung Association.Treating and managing tuberculosis.Additional ReadingCenters for Disease Control. Division of Tuberculosis Elimination.Tuberculosis (TB).World Health Organization.Tuberculosis.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Talwar A, Tsang CA, Price SF, et al.Tuberculosis — United States, 2018.MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2019;68:257–262. doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm6811a2Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Tuberculosis risk factors.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Testing for tuberculosis.US Preventive Services Task Force, Mangione CM, Barry MJ, et al.Screening for latent tuberculosis infection in adults: US preventive services task force recommendation statement.JAMA. 2023;329(17):1487-1494. doi:10.1001/jama.2023.4899Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Treatment for TB disease.American Lung Association.Treating and managing tuberculosis.
Talwar A, Tsang CA, Price SF, et al.Tuberculosis — United States, 2018.MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2019;68:257–262. doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm6811a2
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Tuberculosis risk factors.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Testing for tuberculosis.
US Preventive Services Task Force, Mangione CM, Barry MJ, et al.Screening for latent tuberculosis infection in adults: US preventive services task force recommendation statement.JAMA. 2023;329(17):1487-1494. doi:10.1001/jama.2023.4899
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Treatment for TB disease.
American Lung Association.Treating and managing tuberculosis.
Centers for Disease Control. Division of Tuberculosis Elimination.Tuberculosis (TB).World Health Organization.Tuberculosis.
Centers for Disease Control. Division of Tuberculosis Elimination.Tuberculosis (TB).
World Health Organization.Tuberculosis.
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