Tuberculosis

Pulmonary Specialists in Fremont

Tuberculosis or “TB” is a multisystemic infectious disease caused by a rod-shaped bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. TB is a disease that largely affects the lungs. It is spread by contact with an infected person’s droplets from a cough or sneeze. TB kills approximately 1.1 million to 1.7 million around the world every year. It is the leading cause of infectious disease-related death.

Pulmonary TB

There are multiple types of TB. However, pulmonary TB causes most TB infections—approximately 85%.

Some of the symptoms of pulmonary TB include:

• Loss of appetite
• Weight loss
• Muscle loss
• Chest pain
• Shortness of breath
• Swollen lymph nodes
• Fever
• Night sweats
• Coughing
• Coughing up blood
• Pneumonitis
• Fatigue

Diagnosing TB

TB can appear either as a latent form or an active form. Diagnosing active TB requires a medical history followed by a skin test called a Mantoux tuberculin skin test or tuberculin skin test (TST). Your doctor will inject tuberculin into your skin and wait approximately 48 to 72 hours to see if the skin has swelled at the injection site. No induration suggests a negative result. Induration or a positive test may indicate that the individual has either been exposed to live mycobacteria, or is actively infected. Ask your doctor at Washington Health Medical Group for more information.