Is Tuberculosis Contagious?

Tuberculosis, popularly known as 'TB' is caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis mainly affects the lungs, but can also infect the central nervous system, the lymphatic system, the circulatory system, the genitourinary system, the gastrointestinal system, bones, joints, and in some rare cases, even the skin. Tuberculosis is airborne in its spreading mechanism.

When a person with tuberculosis, primarily in the lungs, coughs, sneezes, spits or talks, he/she releases tiny droplets of the bacteria into the air, thereby infecting the people around. People with a weak or compromised immune system are more susceptible to getting infected. The most common symptoms of tuberculosis include a bad cough that lasts 3 weeks or longer (with or without blood or mucus), weight loss, fatigue, fever, etc. As it is airborne, common queries like is tuberculosis contagious and how contagious is tuberculosis, plagues many minds.

Pulmonary Tuberculosis Types: Contagious Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis Pleurisy: Tuberculosis pleurisy can develop in a very short time of catching the infection. This infection type leads to the rupture of granuloma into the pleural space. The pleural space is the space between the lungs and the chest wall. The rupture causes fluids to enter this space and compress the lungs. Shortness of breath and seizure-like chest pains, accompanied with a low grade fever are common symptoms of tuberculosis pleurisy. Tuberculosis pleurisy is contagious in nature.

Primary Tuberculosis Pneumonia: This is a rare form of highly contagious tuberculosis, and is almost like pneumonia in its presentation and symptoms. People with compromised or weak immune systems are more prone to getting infected with primary tuberculosis pneumonia. Young children, the elderly, and patients with immune-suppression infections like HIV/AIDs, etc., are more susceptible to it. The common symptoms include high fever and persistent cough (with or without blood).

Miliary Tuberculosis: This form of tuberculosis occurs in a very short span of contracting the primary infection. It is not easily diagnosed and may need repetitive chest x-rays. The first physical sign of miliary tuberculosis is the appearance of tiny nodules throughout the lungs. Exhibited symptoms include high fever, sweat, gradual weight loss, persistent illness, and a general decline in health. Death may also occur in extreme cases. Children, the elderly, and patients with immune-suppression infections are more at risk for developing miliary tuberculosis.

Cavitary Tuberculosis: A highly contagious form of tuberculosis, the cavitary tuberculosis bacteria has the capacity to cause extensive damage to the upper lobes of the lungs by forming large cavities in it. This form also provides a highly oxygenated environment for the miliary tuberculosis bacteria to thrive in. The infection at times tends to spread into the pleural space as well, increasing complications for the infected person. Symptoms include chronic cough (with or without blood), night sweats, low grade to high fever, gradual weight loss and fatigue.

Laryngeal Tuberculosis: This type of tuberculosis is usually considered as a complication of pulmonary tuberculosis. Contagious and highly dangerous, there has been a surge in laryngeal form of tuberculosis in the last decade. The infection mainly affects the larynx and/or the vocal chord area. If left untreated, it can lead to permanent damage of the vocal chords and can render an infected patient speechless for life.

Symptoms of Tuberculosis Disease (TB)

When a person’s immune system is weakened and they are exposed to TB or have Latent TB then the disease becomes active. The bacteria then begin to war against the body, and destruction can be rather severe depending both on the level of the person’s immune system and the location of the bacteria. The respiratory system is the most common place where the bacteria grow.




Respiratory symptoms may include horrible coughing that extends longer than three weeks, chest pains, blood or sputum when coughing. Other symptoms include extreme fatigue, reduced weight, loss of appetite, high fever, chills, night sweats.

In addition, TB results in abnormal chest x-rays and lab results. It also must be remembered that a person with active TB can spread it easily to others nearby. Adequate ventilation is a must. Also caution by those attending to or visiting the patient must be taken.

Active Tiberculosis Desease

What is active TB disease?

TB bacteria become active if the immune system can't stop them from growing. The active bacteria begin to multiply in the body and cause active TB disease. The bacteria attack the body and destroy tissue. If this occurs in the lungs, the bacteria can actually create a hole in the lung. Some people develop active TB disease soon after becoming infected, before their immune system can fight the TB bacteria. Other people may get sick later, when their immune system becomes weak for another reason.

Babies and young children often have weak immune systems. People infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, have very weak immune systems. Other people can have weak immune systems, too, especially people with any of these conditions:

• substance abuse
• diabetes mellitus
• silicosis
• cancer of the head or neck
• leukemia or Hodgkin's disease
• severe kidney disease
• low body weight
• certain medical treatments (such as corticosteroid treatment or organ transplants)
• specialized treatment for rheumatoid arthritis or Crohn's disease

Symptoms of TB depend on where in the body the TB bacteria are growing. TB bacteria usually grow in the lungs. TB in the lungs may cause symptoms such as

• a bad cough that lasts 3 weeks or longer
• pain in the chest
• coughing up blood or sputum (phlegm from deep inside the lungs)

Other symptoms of active TB disease are

• weakness or fatigue
• weight loss
• no appetite
• chills
• fever
• sweating at night

Prevention of Tuberculosis

Protect your family and friends
 

If you have active TB, keep your germs to yourself. It generally takes a few weeks of treatment with TB medications before you're not contagious anymore. Follow these tips to help keep your friends and family from getting sick:

• Stay home. Don't go to work or school or sleep in a room with other people during the first few weeks of treatment for active tuberculosis.
• Ventilate the room. Tuberculosis germs spread more easily in small closed spaces where air doesn't move. If it's not too cold outdoors, open the windows and use a fan to blow indoor air outside.
• Cover your mouth. Use a tissue to cover your mouth anytime you laugh, sneeze or cough. Put the dirty tissue in a bag, seal it and throw it away.
• Wear a mask. Wearing a surgical mask when you're around other people during the first three weeks of treatment may help lessen the risk of transmission.

Finish your entire course of medication

This is the most important step you can take to protect yourself and others from tuberculosis. When you stop treatment early or skip doses, TB bacteria have a chance to develop mutations that allow them to survive the most potent TB drugs. The resulting drug-resistant strains are much more deadly and difficult to treat.
Vaccinations
In countries where tuberculosis is more common, infants are vaccinated with bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine because it can prevent severe tuberculosis in children. The BCG vaccine isn't recommended for general use in the United States because it isn't very effective in adults and it causes a false-positive result on a TB skin test. Researchers are working on developing a more effective TB vaccine.

Tuberculosis Definition.

What is Tuberculosis?

Tuberculosis (TB) is a life-threatening infection that primarily affects your lungs. Every year, tuberculosis kills nearly 2 million people worldwide. The infection is common — about one-third of the human population is infected with TB, with one new infection occurring every second.
Tuberculosis (TB) is a potentially fatal contagious disease that can affect almost any part of the body but is mainly an infection of the lungs. It is caused by a bacterial microorganism, the tubercle bacillus or Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Although TB can be treated, cured, and can be prevented if persons at risk take certain drugs, scientists have never come close to wiping it out. Few diseases have caused so much distressing illness for centuries and claimed so many lives.

Tuberculosis spreads through airborne droplets when a person with the infection coughs, talks or sneezes. In general, you need prolonged exposure to an infected person before becoming infected yourself. Even then, you may not develop symptoms of the disease. Or, symptoms may not show up until many years later.
Left untreated, tuberculosis can be fatal. With proper care, however, most cases of tuberculosis can be treated, even those resistant to the drugs commonly used against the disease.

Causes of Tuberculosis.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium that causes tuberculosis,spreads in microscopic droplets that are released into the air when someone with the untreated, active form of the disease coughs, speaks, laughs, sings or sneezes.
Although tuberculosis is contagious, it's not especially easy to catch. In general, you need long-term contact with an infected person to become infected yourself. You're much more likely to contract tuberculosis from a family member or close co-worker than from a stranger on a bus or in a restaurant. A person with nonresistant active TB who's been effectively treated for at least two weeks is generally no longer contagious. Rarely, a pregnant woman with an active TB disease may pass the bacteria to her fetus. 

TB infection versus active TB
Although TB can affect other organs and tissues, it primarily attacks your lungs. Approximately two to eight weeks after your lungs are infected with M. tuberculosis, your immune system springs into action. Macrophages — specialized white blood cells that ingest harmful organisms — begin to surround and "wall off" the tuberculosis bacteria in your lungs, much like a scab forming over a wound. If the macrophages are successful, the bacteria may remain within these walls for years — alive, but in a dormant state. In this case, you're considered to have TB infection and you'll test positive on the TB skin test, but you won't feel sick or have symptoms and you can't transmit the disease to others.

Recomended Treatment

Tuberculosis treatment
Treatment of tuberculosis (TB) takes six to nine months and sometimes longer. TB can be cured in almost all cases by taking the medications as prescribed by your doctor for the full course of treatment (at least six months).

Like all medications, your anti-tuberculosis tablets can cause side effects. Your doctor will monitor your progress during treatment to make sure the medication is working. This will usually involve blood, sputum or urine tests and chest x-rays.

Tell your doctor immediately if you experience illness or symptoms
It is important to tell your doctor or health care worker immediately if you experience any unexplained illness or the following symptoms:

• Nausea or vomiting
• Jaundice – yellowish skin or eyes, dark urine (orange/red urine is a normal side effect and is not harmful)
• Unexplained fever or tiredness
• Tingling or numbness of hands or feet, or joint pains
• Skin rash, itching skin or bruising
• Visual changes or change in red-green colour vision.

Side effects of specific tuberculosis medications
The different medications used to treat tuberculosis are associated with specific side effects:

• Isoniazid – may make you feel tired or nauseous or make you lose your appetite. It can cause numbness or tingling in your hands or feet but this is rare in well-nourished people.
• Rifampicin – reduces the effectiveness of the contraceptive pill so talk to your doctor about other forms of contraception. It can stain lens implants and contact lenses so tell your doctor if you use these.
• Ethambutol or Myambutol – can cause visual problems. Your eyesight will be checked during treatment but you should stop taking the medication if your vision is affected and call your doctor straight away.
• Pyrazinamide – can lead to nausea and a loss of appetite. It is usually only taken for the first two to three months of treatment. Consult with your doctor if you develop unexplained rashes, fever, aches or joint pains.