Tuberculosis - Overview

Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by bacteria called Mycobacterium tuberculosis that generally affect the lungs, but it can also affect other organs of the body.

TB spread from one person to another through air when a person infected with TB coughs, sneezes, or even talks. Immune system cannot stop the bacteria from growing once infected with TB. It is highly contagious but can be cured with proper treatment.

Most TB infections do not cause any symptoms called latent TB where bacteria in the body remain inactive. Only about 10% of latent TB infections progress to active disease. Active TB is the condition where the immune system fails to kill the bacteria.  This active TB infection cause symptoms as the bacteria remains active.

Do you know? TB is more common in developing countries. About one-third of the world's population is believed to have latent TB.

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