How can tuberculosis be spread

Tuberculosis TB. Section Navigation. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Syndicate. Fact Sheets. Minus Related Pages. What is Latent TB Infection? The general symptoms of TB disease include Unexplained weight loss Loss of appetite Night sweats Fever Fatigue Chills The symptoms of TB of the lungs include Coughing for 3 weeks or longer Hemoptysis coughing up blood Chest pain Other symptoms depend on the part of the body that is affected.

Diagnostic standards and classification of tuberculosis in adults and children external icon. Even before a TB diagnosis , people can unwittingly transmit tuberculosis to others.

People with symptomatic TB are contagious until they have taken their TB medications for at least two weeks. After that point, treatment must continue for months, but the infection is no longer contagious. Anyone who has been in contact with someone with TB should have a tuberculosis test also called a PPD test immediately to find out whether they have the illness, and if they are capable of spreading it to other people.

Being around a person infected with TB, or even breathing in the air contaminated with tuberculosis germs, doesn't mean that you'll definitely get TB.

However, certain people are more susceptible to the disease than others. People with healthy immune systems are better able to defend themselves against the progression of tuberculosis infection into active TB disease, while those with weakened immune systems — for instance, people with HIV — are much more susceptible to actually developing active tuberculosis disease. From there, they can move through the blood to other parts of the body, such as the kidney, spine, and brain.

TB disease in the lungs or throat can be infectious. This means that the bacteria can be spread to other people. TB in other parts of the body, such as the kidney or spine, is usually not infectious. People with TB disease are most likely to spread it to people they spend time with every day. This includes family members, friends, and coworkers or schoolmates. TB disease will make you sick. People with TB disease can spread the germs to people they spend time with every day.

If you have been around someone who has TB disease , you should go to your doctor or your local health department for tests. The skin test is used most often. A small needle is used to put some testing material, called tuberculin, under the skin. In days, you return to the health care worker who will check to see if there is a reaction to the test. In some cases, a TB blood test is used to test for TB infection. To tell if someone has TB disease , other tests such as chest x-ray and a sample of sputum phlegm that is coughed up from deep in the lungs may be needed.

If you have latent TB infection , you may need medicine to prevent getting TB disease later. One or more drugs are used to treat latent TB infection. It is important that you take your medicine exactly as your doctor or health care worker tells you.