What is TB?

TB or Tuberculosis: A brief

Tuberculosis, which is commonly known as TB, is a bacterial infection which can spread via lymph nodes and bloodstream to any of the body organs. It is mostly found in human lungs. Most of the people who are get infected by TB never develop symptoms as the bacteria lives in an inactive form within human body. But if the immune system falls weak, such as people with HIV, the TB bacterium becomes active. In their active form, TB bacteria can cause death of tissue in the infected organs. Active TB bacteria can be deadly if not treated. So I am sure this gave you a brief about What is TB.

The bacterium which causes tuberculosis is transmitted via air and this is why the disease is contagious. Infection probably occurs if you are exposed to a person on daily basis who is infected with TB. Due to the fact that the tuberculosis bacterium stays inactive after they attack the human body, only a few people who are infected with TB will have the active disease. Those people will suffer from latent tuberculosis infection. This means they will show no signs of infection and would not be able to spread this to others, unless the disease becomes active in their body.

Must Read: What are the Treatments of Tuberculosis

These latent infections can ultimately become active. So, people without any Tuberculosis symptoms should be given medical treatment. An appropriate medical care can help infected people get rid of the inactive bacteria before they turn active.

Latent TB

Latent or inactive TB, which is also known as LTBI, causes when a person has the tuberculosis bacteria in their body, but in a very small number. These bacteria are kept controlled by human body’s immune system. People suffering from Latent TB never experience sickness and they never show symptoms of TB. A person may suffer from latent TB because he might have a gone through any tuberculosis test, like the skin test. People with this kind of TB are not contagious and cannot pass it over to other people.

So with this article, I am sure you must have got an idea about What is TB? If you have any doubt, don't hesitate to drop your doubts in comment.