2 of 2

Write now Article Tools

Tuberculosis has long been with us as a major cause of death and disability. For hundreds of years, tuberculosis, known in the past as "consumption", was a leading cause of death. Many famous names, as well as millions of anonymous persons have fallen victim to the horrible effects of the disease.

Before discussing how tuberculosis is spread, it is important to understand exactly what tuberculosis is. A bacteria known as "Mycobacterium tuberculosis" is the cause of tuberculosis infections in people. The bacteria is small and shaped roughly like a cylinder or a Twinkie - although you wouldn't want to be eating these little critters. This shape is called a bacillus.

Infection with tuberculosis goes through multiple stages. The primary stage is often self-limiting and has very few symptoms. Patients who do report symptoms often have a cough and possibly a mild fever.

In about 10% of cases, the primary tuberculosis infection will invade the lungs and remain there, despite the efforts of your immune system to fight it off. This stage can last for years in many people, during which they will likely not know they have the infection still in them.

In the worst of cases, these latent infections will reactivate and cause active tuberculosis infections. Symptoms in these secondary cases are often much worse and can include fevers, sweating, weight loss, chills and coughing. It is possible, although rare, for a tuberculosis infection to spread to other organs of the body. This is known as "miliary tuberculosis" and although it can take many years to progress to this stage, when it does, the fatality rate is very high.

Now, to address the primary topic of this article - How is tuberculosis spread?

Tuberculosis is spread when a person is exposed to a host who is actively contagious. If you are around a person who has active tuberculosis, you can be at risk for catching the bacteria. Tuberculosis bacteria travel between people in small respiratory droplets when someone with the infection coughs or sneezes. The bacteria isn't strictly "airborne" as it does need the water droplets to survive.

If you are interacting with a person whom you know has an active tuberculosis infection, you should be very careful to ensure that both you and the patient are wearing protective equipment such as face masks. Even if the person coughed before you entered the room, there could still be infectious droplets in the air that you cannot see. Simple precautions can be effective, but they must be followed carefully in order to prevent the spread of tuberculosis.

Learn more about this author, Erich Rosenberger M.D..
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

Add your voice

Know something about How tuberculosis is spread?
We want to hear your view. Write now!