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    TB Fact Sheet - English

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    Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by bacteria that usually affect the lungs but can infect other organs. It can be latent or active. Latent TB means a person carries inactive bacteria but has no symptoms, while active TB causes symptoms like cough and weight loss. Active TB can spread to others through coughing but latent TB cannot. A skin or blood test can detect TB infection but an x-ray may be needed to check for active disease. While latent TB needs preventative treatment, active TB requires prolonged antibiotic treatment to cure and prevent spread.

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    TB Fact Sheet - English

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    Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by bacteria that usually affect the lungs but can infect other organs. It can be latent or active. Latent TB means a person carries inactive bacteria but has no symptoms, while active TB causes symptoms like cough and weight loss. Active TB can spread to others through coughing but latent TB cannot. A skin or blood test can detect TB infection but an x-ray may be needed to check for active disease. While latent TB needs preventative treatment, active TB requires prolonged antibiotic treatment to cure and prevent spread.

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    Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by bacteria that usually affect the lungs but can infect other organs. It can be latent or active. Latent TB means a person carries inactive bacteria but has no symptoms, while active TB causes symptoms like cough and weight loss. Active TB can spread to others through coughing but latent TB cannot. A skin or blood test can detect TB infection but an x-ray may be needed to check for active disease. While latent TB needs preventative treatment, active TB requires prolonged antibiotic treatment to cure and prevent spread.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    34 views2 pages

    TB Fact Sheet - English

    Uploaded by

    Descargar scribd
    Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by bacteria that usually affect the lungs but can infect other organs. It can be latent or active. Latent TB means a person carries inactive bacteria but has no symptoms, while active TB causes symptoms like cough and weight loss. Active TB can spread to others through coughing but latent TB cannot. A skin or blood test can detect TB infection but an x-ray may be needed to check for active disease. While latent TB needs preventative treatment, active TB requires prolonged antibiotic treatment to cure and prevent spread.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    Download as pdf or txt
    of 2

    Tuberculosis (TB)

    What is Tuberculosis?
    Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. 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. As a result, two TB-related conditions exist: latent TB
    infection (LTBI) and TB disease. If not treated properly, TB disease can be fatal.

    Differences Between Latent TB infection and TB Disease


    Characteristics A person with Latent TB Infection A person with TB Disease …
    …
    Active or Inactive Germs? A small amount of TB germs in A large amount of active TB germs
    his/ her body that are alive but in his/her body
    inactive
    Symptoms? No symptoms Symptoms that may include:
    • A bad cough that lasts 3
    weeks or longer
    • Chest pain
    • Coughing up blood or sputum
    • Weakness or fatigue
    • Weight loss
    • Loss of appetite
    • Chills
    • Fever
    • Night sweats
    Sick? Does not feel sick Usually feels sick
    Spread? Cannot spread TB bacteria to May spread TB bacteria to others
    others
    Tests? Usually has a skin test or blood Usually has a skin test or blood
    test result indicating TB infection test result indicating TB infection
    Follow up tests? Has a normal chest x-ray and a May have an abnormal chest x-
    negative sputum smear ray, or positive sputum smear or
    culture
    Treatment? Needs treatment for latent TB Needs treatment to treat TB
    infection to prevent TB disease disease

    How is TB spread?
    TB germs go into the air when someone who is sick with TB disease in the lungs coughs, sneezes, speaks
    or sings. People who are living, working, or spending a lot of time with this person share the same air.
    They can breathe in the TB germs and get infected with TB.
    1
    You cannot get TB from a person with latent TB infection.
    Who is at risk for TB disease?
    People at risk for getting TB infection are those who have had More Resources and Links
    contact with a person with TB disease during the time they were
    coughing TB germs into the air. People who have lived in parts of https://www.mass.gov/servi
    the world where there is a lot of TB are at risk for having TB ce-details/tuberculosis
    infection.
    https://www.cdc.gov/tb/pu
    Is there a test for TB infection? blications/factsheets/genera
    There are two different types of tests for TB infection, a blood test l/tb.htm
    and a skin test. Either test can find out if you have TB germs in
    your body. With a blood test, a small amount of your blood is
    taken for the test. With a skin test, a small amount of fluid is
    placed under the skin of the forearm. You will need to come back
    in two or three days to have your doctor or nurse read the skin
    test results. If your TB test is positive, it means that you have TB
    germs, and your doctor may order a chest X-ray to be sure you are
    not sick with TB disease.

    What is Bacille Calmette–Guèrin (BCG)?


    BCG is a vaccine against TB that is given in countries where TB is
    common. It can help prevent infants and small children from
    getting sick with TB disease. At best BCG protects children for up
    to 5 years, and sometimes it does not protect against TB at all. It is
    rarely used in the United States.

    Can latent TB infection be treated?


    If you have latent TB infection but not TB disease, your doctor may
    Quincy Health
    want you to take a drug to kill the TB germs and prevent you from
    developing TB disease. The decision about taking treatment for
    Department
    latent infection will be based on your chances of developing TB
    disease. Some people are more likely than others to develop TB 440 East Squantum Street,
    disease once they have TB infection. This includes people with HIV Quincy, MA, 02171
    infection, people who were recently exposed to someone with TB
    disease, and people with certain medical conditions. P: 617-376-1275

    Can TB disease be treated?


    TB disease can be treated by taking several drugs for 6 to 12
    months. It is very important that people who have TB disease
    finish the medicine and take the drugs exactly as prescribed. If
    they stop taking the drugs too soon, they can become sick again; if
    they do not take the drugs correctly, the germs that are still alive
    may become resistant to those drugs. TB that is resistant to drugs
    is harder and more expensive to treat. In some situations, staff of
    the local health department meet regularly with patients who
    have TB to watch them take their medications. This is called
    directly observed therapy (DOT). DOT helps the patient complete
    treatment in the least amount of time. 2

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