Symptoms

Although your body can harbor the bacteria that cause tuberculosis, your immune system usually can prevent you from becoming sick. For this reason, doctors make a distinction between:

• Latent TB. You have a TB infection, but the bacteria in your body are inactive and cause no symptoms. Latent TB, also called inactive TB or TB infection, isn't contagious. Latent TB can turn into active TB, so treatment is important.
• Active TB. Also called TB disease, this condition makes you sick and, in most cases, can spread to others. It can occur weeks or years after infection with the TB bacteria.

Signs and symptoms of active TB include:

• Coughing for three or more weeks
• Coughing up blood or mucus
• Chest pain, or pain with breathing or coughing
• Unintentional weight loss
• Fatigue
• Fever
• Night sweats
• Chills
• Loss of appetite

Tuberculosis can also affect other parts of your body, including the kidneys, spine or brain. When TB occurs outside your lungs, signs and symptoms vary according to the organs involved. For example, tuberculosis of the spine might cause back pain, and tuberculosis in your kidneys might cause blood in your urine.

When to see a doctor

See your doctor if you have a fever, unexplained weight loss, drenching night sweats or a persistent cough. These are often indications of TB but can also result from other conditions. Also, see your doctor if you think you've been exposed to TB.

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:

• Have HIV/AIDS
• Use IV drugs
• Are in contact with infected people
• Are from a country where TB is common, such as several countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia
• Live or work in areas where TB is common, such as prisons or nursing homes
• Work in health care and treat people with a high risk of TB
• Are children who are exposed to adults at risk of TB