Tuberculosis
Pulmonary Specialists in Fremont
Tuberculosis or “TB” is a multisystemic infectious disease
caused by a rod-shaped bacterium called
Mycobacterium tuberculosis. TB is a disease that largely affects the lungs. It is spread by contact
with an infected person’s droplets from a cough or sneeze. TB kills
approximately 1.1 million to 1.7 million around the world every year.
It is the leading cause of infectious disease-related death.
Pulmonary TB
There are multiple types of TB. However, pulmonary TB causes most TB infections—approximately 85%.
Some of the symptoms of pulmonary TB include:
- Loss of appetite
- Weight loss
- Muscle loss
- Chest pain
- Shortness of breath
- Swollen lymph nodes
- Fever
- Night sweats
- Coughing
- Coughing up blood
- Pneumonitis
- Fatigue
Diagnosing TB
TB can appear either as a latent form or an active form. Diagnosing active
TB requires a medical history followed by a skin test called a Mantoux
tuberculin skin test or tuberculin skin test (TST). Your doctor will inject
tuberculin into your skin and wait approximately 48 to 72 hours to see
if the skin has swelled at the injection site. No induration suggests
a negative result. Induration or a positive test may indicate that the
individual has either been exposed to live mycobacteria, or is actively
infected. Ask your doctor at Washington Township Medical Foundation for
more information.