Tuberculosis Symptoms

Tuberculosis is a contagious infection that usually attacks the human respiratory system, especially the lungs.

Overview of Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis, also referred to as TB, is a contagious disease, but it cannot be spread easily as the bacteria cannot survive on exposed external surfaces. Any person who is in constant contact with an infected person has a high risk of contracting the disease. Therefore, co-workers, close family members, friends and anybody who is in proximity to the infected person is at a higher risk of being infected.

Tuberculosis is a disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis – which can appear as either Gram-negative or Gram-positive bacteria of the genus of Actinobacteria. Apart from the lungs, these bacteria can attack and spread to other parts of the body, including the brain, spine and kidney.

Here, let us learn more detail about the symptoms of this contagious disease-Tuberculosis.

Also Refer: Tuberculosis

Symptoms of Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis symptoms (TB symptoms) may not be immediately visible. This is because there are two forms of the disease-

  1. Latent Tuberculosis
  2. Active Tuberculosis

As the name suggests, latent tuberculosis doesn’t make the person sick or contagious. Though the causative microbe is present within them, the infected individual does not show any symptoms. This is because their immune system stops the microbes from spreading, but doesn’t completely kill them. This creates a window of opportunity for the microbes to become active one day.

Active TB can make the infected person sick and contagious. Most cases of adult TB stem from old latent TB infections.

Characteristic symptoms of TB symptoms include

  1. Fever
  2. Chills
  3. Chest pain
  4. Weight loss
  5. Night Sweats
  6. Breathlessness
  7. Loss of appetite
  8. Excessive fatigue
  9. Coughing up mucus streaked with blood
  10. A persistent cough that lasts over 20-25 days
Tuberculosis is a potentially serious infectious disease. In the 20th Century, TB was a leading cause of death in the United States. Since the discovery of the TB vaccination, there are many cases, which have been cured with antibiotics. As TB is a  multi-systemic disease, the antibiotics may take months together or even longer period to completely cure this infectious disease.
Also Refer: Antibiotics

Stay tuned with BYJU’S to learn more in detail about this dreadful infectious disease Tuberculosis (TB) along with its symptoms, treatments, causes and other related topics.

 

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