What type of pathogen is tuberculosis

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that people who have an increased risk of tuberculosis be screened for latent TB infection. This recommendation includes people who:. Tuberculosis is caused by bacteria that spread from person to person through microscopic droplets released into the air.

This can happen when someone with the untreated, active form of tuberculosis coughs, speaks, sneezes, spits, laughs or sings. Although tuberculosis is contagious, it's not easy to catch.

You're much more likely to get tuberculosis from someone you live or work with than from a stranger. Most people with active TB who've had appropriate drug treatment for at least two weeks are no longer contagious.

HIV suppresses the immune system, making it difficult for the body to control TB bacteria. Tuberculosis also remains a major killer because of the increase in drug-resistant strains. Over time, some TB germs have developed the ability to survive despite medications. This is partly because people don't take their drugs as directed or don't complete the course of treatment. Drug-resistant strains of tuberculosis emerge when an antibiotic fails to kill all of the bacteria it targets. The surviving bacteria become resistant to that drug and often other antibiotics as well.

Some TB bacteria have developed resistance to the most commonly used treatments, such as isoniazid and rifampin Rifadin, Rimactane. Some TB strains have also developed resistance to drugs less commonly used in TB treatment, such as the antibiotics known as fluoroquinolones, and injectable medications including amikacin and capreomycin Capastat.

These medications are often used to treat infections that are resistant to the more commonly used drugs. A healthy immune system often successfully fights TB bacteria.

However, several conditions and medications can weaken your immune system, including:. Your risk of getting tuberculosis is higher if you live in, emigrate from or travel to areas with high tuberculosis rates. Areas include:. Without treatment, tuberculosis can be fatal. Untreated active disease typically affects your lungs, but it can affect other parts of your body, as well.

Section Navigation. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Syndicate. Basic TB Facts. Minus Related Pages. How TB Spreads. TB Risk Factors. TB Terms. It would be highly unlikely for you to become infected by sitting next to an infected person on, for instance, a bus or train. Not everyone with TB is infectious. Children with TB or people with a TB infection that occurs outside the lungs extrapulmonary TB do not spread the infection.

But in some cases, the bacteria infect the body but do not cause any symptoms latent TB , or the infection begins to cause symptoms within weeks, months or even years active TB. This usually happens either within the first year or two of infection, or when the immune system is weakened — for example, if someone is having chemotherapy treatment for cancer.