T.B Clinic

Tuberculosis (TB) is a contagious infection that usually attacks your lungs. It can also spread to other parts of your body, like your brain and spine. A type of bacteria called Mycobacterium tuberculosis causes it. A TB infection doesn’t always mean you’ll get sick.

There are two forms of the disease:

1) Latent TB – You have the germs in your body, but your immune system keeps them from spreading. You don’t have any symptoms, and you’re not contagious. But the infection is still alive and can one day become active. If you’re at high risk for re activation — for instance, if you have HIV, you had an infection in the past 2 years, your chest X-ray is unusual, or your immune system is weakened — your doctor will give you medications to prevent active TB.

2) Active TB – The germs multiply and make you sick. You can spread the disease to others. Ninety percent of active cases in adults come from a latent TB infection. A latent or active TB infection can also be drug-resistant, meaning certain medications don’t work against the bacteria.