Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB), chronic or acute bacterial infection that primarily attacks the lungs, but which may also affect the kidneys, bones, lymph nodes, and brain. The disease is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, a rod-shaped bacterium. Symptoms of TB include coughing, chest pain, shortness of breath, loss of appetite, weight loss, fever, chills, and fatigue. Children and people with weakened immune systems are the most susceptible to TB. Half of all untreated TB cases are fatal. TB is transmitted from person to person, usually by inhaling bacteria-carrying air droplets. When a person sick with TB coughs, sneezes, or speaks, small particles that carry two to three bacteria surrounded by a layer of moisture are released in the air. When another person inhales these particles, the bacteria may lodge in that person’s lungs and multiply. Diagnosis of TB requires two separate methods. Tuberculin skin testing is a method of screening for exposure to TB infection. A person who was infec...