do you have tb forever?
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Even though the TB germs in your body are dormant (sleeping), they are very strong. Many germs are killed shortly after you start taking your medicine, but some stay alive in your body a long time. It takes longer for them to die.
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Can You Have Tuberculosis Without A Cough? Although tuberculosis is most well-known for causing a distinctive cough, there are other types of tuberculosis in which individuals don't experience the symptom at all. Two types of the disease don't produce a cough: Bone and joint TB and latent TB.
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Why Tuberculosis Is So Hard to Cure. When microbes divide, you usually get more of the same: A cell splits up and creates two identical copies of itself. But a new study shows that's not true for mycobacteria, which cause tuberculosis (TB) in humans—and that may explain why the disease is so difficult to treat.
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Many tuberculosis (TB) patients are never hospitalized. The greatest risk of transmission occurs prior to initiation of treatment. Seventy-five percent of all people who are acid fast bacillus (AFB) sputum smear positive will remain so for at least 2 weeks, with the majority remaining positive for 4 to 6 weeks.
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Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by bacteria (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) that most often affect the lungs. Tuberculosis is curable and preventable. TB is spread from person to person through the air. When people with lung TB cough, sneeze or spit, they propel the TB germs into the air.
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TB is treated with antibiotic drugs. However, the bacteria can evolve to become resistant to these medications. Multidrug-resistant (MDR) TB currently requires treatment for up to 2 years with several antibiotics that may have serious side effects.
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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 with or work with than from a stranger.
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Treatment for drug-resistant TB is very expensive, may take up to 2 years to complete and can produce serious side effects including depression or psychosis, hearing loss, hepatitis, and kidney impairment. Drug-resistant TB may also be fatal; approximately 9 percent of patients die during treatment.
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Besides the direct transmission from an infected person to an uninfected person, the TB bacilli can also be transmitted by dust. Once coughed out by a person with TB, the bacilli can survive up to six months outside the body if they are protected from direct sunlight.
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TB is contagious and can be spread to others by airborne droplets during sneezing, coughing, and contact with sputum, so you can get the disease by close contact with infected people; outbreaks occur in crowded conditions. The incubation period may vary from about two to 12 weeks.
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There are two types of TB conditions: latent TB infection and TB disease. TB bacteria can live in the body without making you sick. This is called latent TB infection.
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Yes, TB is highly contagious and can be transmitted from an infected person to an uninfected person, mainly when a person with TB coughs, sneezes, speaks, or even sings (known as airborne transmission or airborne disease). Other people who breathe in the aerosolized bacteria can become infected.
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Tuberculosis (TB) is a disease caused by germs that are spread from person to person through the air. TB usually affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body, such as the brain, the kidneys, or the spine. A person with TB can die if they do not get treatment.
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In most cases, TB is treatable and curable; however, people with TB can die if they do not get proper treatment. Sometimes drug-resistant TB occurs when bacteria become resistant to the drugs used to treat TB. This means that the drug can no longer kill the TB bacteria.
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But treating TB takes much longer than treating other types of bacterial infections. For active tuberculosis, you must take antibiotics for at least six to nine months. The exact drugs and length of treatment depend on your age, overall health, possible drug resistance and the infection's location in the body.
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People who have a high risk for developing TB usually have a skin test (tuberculin test) on a regular basis. Health professionals often are given a tuberculin skin test when they begin work in a hospital or nursing home, with retesting every 6 to 12 months. For more information, see the topic Tuberculosis.
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Tuberculosis Is Fast Becoming a Global Threat. Tuberculosis is making a comeback worldwide—and is quickly becoming drug-resistant. Tuberculosis (TB), a curable disease, is rearing its ugly head again, and because it's becoming resistant to antibiotics, it's rapidly emerging as a major global threat.