What is Tuberculosis ?
Tuberculosis also known as TB, is an infectious disease that can cause infection in your lungs or other tissues. It commonly affects your lungs, but it can also affect other organs like your spine, brain or kidneys.
If you’re infected with the bacterium, but don’t have symptoms, you have inactive tuberculosis or latent tuberculosis infection (also called latent TB). It may seem like TB has gone away, but it’s dormant (sleeping) inside your body. If you’re infected, develop symptoms and are contagious, you have active tuberculosis or tuberculosis disease (TB disease).
Stages of Tuberculosis
The three stages of TB are:
-
Primary infection.
-
Latent TB infection.
-
Active TB disease.
Are there different kinds of Tuberculosis ?
In addition to active or inactive, you might hear about different kinds of TB, including the most common, pulmonary (lung) tuberculosis. But the bacterium can also affect other parts of your body besides the lungs, causing extra-pulmonary tuberculosis (or TB outside of the lung). You might also hear about systemic military tuberculosis, which can spread throughout your body and cause:
-
Meningitis, an inflammation of your brain.
-
Sterile pyuria, or high levels of white blood cells in your urine.
-
Pott’s disease, also called spinal tuberculosis or tuberculosis spondylitis.
-
Addison’s disease, an adrenal gland condition.
-
Hepatitis, a liver infection.
-
Lymphadenitis in your neck, also called scrofula or TB lymphadenitis.
What causes Tuberculosis ?
TB is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The germs are spread through the air and usually infect the lungs, but can also infect other parts of the body. Although TB is infectious, it doesn’t spread easily. You usually have to spend a lot of time in contact with someone who is contagious in order to catch it.
How is Tuberculosis spread ?
TB can be spread when a person with active TB disease releases germs into the air through coughing, sneezing, talking, singing or even laughing. Only people with active pulmonary infection are contagious. Most people who breathe in TB bacteria are able to fight the bacteria and stop it from growing. The bacterium becomes inactive in these individuals, causing a latent TB infection. Although the bacteria are inactive, they still remain alive in the body and can become active later. Some people can have a latent TB infection for a lifetime, without it ever becoming active and developing into TB disease.
However, TB can become active if your immune system becomes weakened and cannot stop the bacteria from growing. This is when the latent TB infection becomes active TB.
What are the signs and symptoms of tuberculosis ?
-
Bad cough (lasting longer than two weeks).
-
Pain in your chest.
-
Coughing up blood or sputum (mucus).
-
Fatigue or weakness.
-
Loss of appetite.
-
Weight loss.
-
Chills
-
Fever
-
Night sweats.
What kinds of tests are used to diagnose tuberculosis ?
-
Lab tests on sputum and lung fluid (BAL fluid obtained by Bronchoscopy)
-
Chest X-ray.
-
Computed tomography (CT) scans.
Screening tests for TB:
-
Mantoux tuberculin skin test (TST)
-
Interferon gamma release assay (IGRA)
How do I know if I should get tested for tuberculosis ?
You may want to get tested for TB if:
-
You are a resident or employee in group settings where the risk is high, such as jails, hospices, skilled nursing facilities, shelters and other healthcare facilities.
-
You’ve been in contact with someone who’s known or suspected to have TB disease.
-
Your body’s resistance to illness is low because of a weak immune system.
-
You think you might already have TB disease and have symptoms.
-
You’ve injected recreational drugs.
-
Your healthcare provider recommends testing.
Others who are at risk for TB include:
-
People with immature or impaired immune systems, such as babies and children.
-
People with kidney disease, diabetes, or other chronic (long-term) illness.
-
People who have received organ transplants.
-
People being treated with chemotherapy for cancer or other types of treatments for immune system disorders.
How is tuberculosis treated ?
TB infection and disease is treated with these drugs:
-
Isoniazid
-
Rifampin
-
Ethambutol
-
Pyrazinamide
You must take all of the medication your provider prescribes, or not all of the bacteria will be killed. You will have to take these medications for as long as you’re told by your doctor. Some forms of TB have become resistant to medications. It’s very important and likely that your provider will use more than one drug to treat TB. It’s very important to finish your entire prescription.
Complications/side effects of treatment
-
Skin rashes and other reactions.
-
Nausea and stomach upset.
-
Itchy skin.
-
Yellow skin or eyes (jaundice).
-
Dark or reddish urine.
How soon after starting treatment for active TB will I feel better ?
It will probably take weeks before you start having more energy and fewer days with symptoms. However, it will take longer than that to complete your treatment. You’ll need to take your medications for at least six to nine months.
Can tuberculosis be cured ?
Yes, TB is curable.
What can you do to prevent spreading tuberculosis ?
You usually have to be in contact with someone with active TB for a long time before becoming infected. It helps to follow infection prevention guidelines like:
-
Washing your hands thoroughly and often.
-
Coughing into your elbow or covering your mouth when you cough.
-
Avoiding close contact with other people.
-
Making sure you take all of your medication correctly.
-
Not returning to work or school until you’ve been cleared by your healthcare provider.
What is the outlook (prognosis) for someone with tuberculosis ?
If you have tuberculosis and you’re treated, your outlook is good if you’ve followed directions and taken your medications for as long as you should and in the way you were told.