Tuberculosis Symptoms

Tuberculosis is an infectious disease that is caused by either the mycobacterium tuberculosis or mycobacterium bovis. It is a potentially serious infection that primarily affects areas of the body that are well aerated, such as the liver, kidney and upper lobes of the lungs. Many people who become infected don\’t develop the symptoms of the disease.

Despite advances in treatment of TB the condition remains a major cause of illness and death worldwide. Tuberculosis kills almost 2 million people. Most cases of tuberculosis can be cured using a combination of medications that are taken for several months or longer. Individuals who suffer from immune mediated diseases, or those medical conditions that suppress the immune system, will have a more difficult time with treatment protocols. In either case, it is important to complete the entire course therapy so that the bacteria do not mutate rendering the antibiotics ineffective.

There is a distinction between individuals who have latent tuberculosis and those who have active tuberculosis. Individuals who have the former will be infected with bacteria but it remains in an inactive state causing no symptoms. In this condition, the tuberculosis is not contagious and will not be spread from person to person

Active tuberculosis is a condition that makes you sick and is very contagious, easily spread from one person to another. The signs and symptoms of tuberculosis are significantly related to the organs which they attack. The bacteria usually attack the lungs and will result in a cough that lasts for three or more weeks. The individual will often cough up blood and experience chest pain with breathing or coughing.

Overall signs and symptoms of active tuberculosis will also include unexplained weight loss, fatigue, fever, night sweats, chills and loss of appetite. It is very important for individuals to seek the advice of their primary care physician for diagnosis and treatment. All of these signs and symptoms are also related to other medical conditions such as a variety of forms of cancer.

When tuberculosis attacks organs outside of the lungs, such as the spine, kidneys or brain, the symptoms will vary. Tuberculosis of the spine may cause back pain and an infection in the kidneys can cause blood in the urine. Again, these symptoms may not initially be related to tuberculosis if a physician is not consulted for early diagnosis. In these cases the bacterial infection remains active and the individual is able to pass the infection to up to 10 people per day depending upon their social outlets.

Your primary care physician, pulmonologist, physician who specializes in lung diseases, or infectious disease specialist will be able to recommends several tests which will help determine a diagnosis of tuberculosis and likely the organs which are affected.

In many parts of the world of vaccine known as BCG is given to offer some protection from developing active tuberculosis. The vaccine is believed to be important in parts of the world where tuberculosis is very common among the population. Unfortunately, once given, future skin tests will be positive and can cause some confusion when trying to diagnose tuberculosis. It is also important to realize that even with a BCG vaccine in childhood tuberculosis can still have been in an adult who is exposed to tuberculosis bacteria.