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 Tuberculosis (TB) is a disease caused by bacteria that usually attacks the lungs and if it goes untreated it can be fatal. TB disease was once the leading cause of death in the United States. TB is spread through the air from one person to another. The bacteria are put into the air when a person with active TB disease of the lungs or throat coughs or sneezes. People nearby may breathe in these bacteria and become infected. |
In most people who breathe in TB bacteria and become infected, the body is able to fight the bacteria to stop them from growing. The bacteria become inactive, but they remain alive in the body and can become active later. This is called latent TB infection.
People with latent TB infection:
- have no symptoms
- don't feel sick
- can't spread TB to others
- usually have a positive skin test reaction
- can develop active TB disease if they do not receive treatment for latent TB infection
Symptoms of TB depend on where in the body the TB bacteria are growing. TB bacteria usually grow in the lungs.
TB in the lungs may cause symptoms such as:
- a bad cough that lasts 3 weeks or longer
- pain in the chest
- coughing up blood or sputum (phlegm from deep inside the lungs)
Other symptoms of active TB disease are:
- weakness or fatigue
- weight loss
- no appetite
- chills
- fever
- sweating at night
The simplest way to find out if you have a TB infection is to get a TB skin test, available at Health Services without an appointment. If the test is positive, then you probably have a TB infection and the health care provider will order more tests, such as a chest x-ray, to determine whether you have active TB disease. Most TB is curable. There are drugs that can kill the germs that cause TB, but a person must continually take the prescribed medication, usually for 9 months.
Skin testing is recommended for diagnostic screening among the following high-risk groups:
- persons with signs, symptoms, and/or laboratory abnormalities suggestive of clinically active TB
- people who interact with persons with active TB disease
- poor and medically underserved people
- homeless people
- those who come from countries with high TB incidence rates (consider having a TB test done on return from travel to a high risk country)
- alcoholics and intravenous drug users
- people with HIV or AIDS, or who are otherwise immune-suppressed
- people in jail or prison
- health care workers and others such as prison guards who work with high-risk populations
