Tuberculosis 

Getting Healthy, Staying Healthy 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES 

National Institutes of Health 

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases 
Tuberculosis 

Getting Healthy, Staying Healthy 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES 

National Institutes of Health 

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases 

NIH Publication No. 08-5725 

June 2008 

www.niaid.nih.gov 
Contents
 

1 What is tuberculosis? 

2 What is TB infection? 

3 Can I give TB infection to someone else? 

4 How can my doctor tell if I have TB infection? 

6 How does my doctor treat TB infection? 

9 What is TB disease? 

10 Can I give TB disease to someone else? 

11 How can my doctor tell if I have TB disease? 

12 How does my doctor treat TB disease? 

16 Where can I get more information? 
What is 

tuberculosis? 

Tuberculosis (TB) is a disease caused by a germ. You can 

get this germ from another person. The TB germ can invade 

your lungs and make you very sick. 

The germ can do two things in your body 

◆	 It can sleep quietly without you noticing it (this is 

called a TB infection) 

◆	 Or it can wake up and make you sick (this is called 

TB disease) 

In addition, there are now two more serious types of 

TB disease. 

◆	 The first is called multidrug-resistant TB, or MDR TB. 

MDR TB is hard to treat because the two best medicines 

for TB don’t get rid of the germ. 

◆	 The second is called extensively drug-resistant TB, or 

XDR TB. XDR TB is a rare kind of MDR TB that is very 

hard to treat. Most of the medicines used to get rid of 

the TB germ don’t work very well. 

1 
What is 


TB infection?
 

TB infection means that the 

TB germ is asleep in your 

body. You have TB infection 

because someone with TB 

disease has given the TB 

germ to you. 

TB infection can turn 

into TB disease if the germ 

wakes up. You can stop this 

from happening by taking 

medicines to get rid of the 

TB germs in your body. 

2 
Can I give TB infection to 

someone else? 

No. You cannot spread the germ to others when you only 

have a TB infection. 

3 
How can my doctor tell 


if I have TB infection?
 

Your doctor will do different tests to see whether you have 

TB infection in your body. 

One is called a TB skin test (or PPD test). Your doctor will 

inject a drop of liquid in the skin on your arm. If you have 

the TB germ, you will get a skin bump after a few days. 

This skin bump will then go away. 

4 
Your doctor will also take a picture of your lungs with a 

chest X-ray. Your doctor will know that you have a sleeping 

TB germ in your body if you get a skin bump after your 

PPD test, but there are no spots or shadows on the X-ray 

of your lungs. 

5 
How does my doctor treat 

TB infection? 

Your doctor may give you medicines called antibiotics. 

You will have to take these medicines for many months 

to make sure all the TB germs are gone from your body. 

You have to take all your medicines until your doctor tells 

you that you are finished, even if the medicines make you 

feel sick. 

6 
You should eat well and get lots of rest while you are 

taking your medicines. 

If you stop taking your medicines, the TB germs may stay 

in your body, wake up, and make you sick with TB disease. 

7 
 

When you are finished taking your medicines, the TB germ 

should be gone from your body. A PPD test may give you 

a skin bump because your body remembers that you have 

once been infected with the TB germ. 

If the medicines did not work well and not all the 

germs are gone from your body, you could get sick with 

TB disease. 

8 
What is 

TB disease? 

TB can become a disease in your body and your lungs 

when the TB germs wake up and become active to make 

you sick. You may have a fever, cough, lose weight, and 

have night sweats. 

9 
 

Can I give TB disease to 

someone else? 

Yes. The TB germ can go through the air from your lungs 

to other people. To protect others from TB 

◆	 Cover your mouth when you speak, laugh, or cough. 

◆	 Do not go to school or work until your doctor tells 

you that you will no longer spread the germs. 

10 
How can my doctor tell 

if I have TB disease? 

Your doctor will look at how sick you are. You will get a 

PPD test and an X-ray of your chest to look at your lungs. 

Your doctor will know that you have TB disease if you 

get a skin bump after your PPD test and you have spots 

or shadows on the X-ray of your lungs. 

11 
How does my doctor treat 

TB disease? 

Your doctor will give you medicines, called antibiotics, that 

may cure your TB. You will have to take different pills for 

many months to make sure all the TB germs are gone from 

your body. 

12 
Some kinds of TB disease are hard to treat with medicines. 

If you have a more serious TB illness, such as MDR TB 

or XDR TB, your doctor may give you different kinds of 

medicines that you will take for a longer period of time. 

It is very important that you take all your TB medicines. 

You have to take your medicines until your doctor tells 

you that you are finished, even if the medicines make 

you feel sick. You may have to see a nurse who will give 

the medicine to you every day. 

13 
You should eat well and get lots of rest while you are taking 

your medicines. 

If you do not take your medicine every day, the TB germs 

may not go away and you could get very sick or die from TB. 

14 
After you finish all your medicines, the TB germ should 

be gone. Because your body remembers that you have had 

the TB germ, a new PPD test may still give you a skin bump. 

If the medicines did not kill all the TB germs, you could 

get TB disease again. 

If you think you have TB disease again, you need to go 

to your doctor or clinic and say that you had TB before. 

15 
Where can I get 

more information? 

National Institute of Allergy 

and Infectious Diseases 

6610 Rockledge Drive, MSC 6612 

Bethesda, MD 20892 

866–284–4107 or 301–496–5717 

www.niaid.nih.gov 

MedlinePlus 

National Library of Medicine 

8600 Rockville Pike 

Bethesda, MD 20894 

888–FIND–NLM (888–346–3656) or 301–594–5983 

www.medlineplus.gov 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 

1600 Clifton Road 

Atlanta, GA 30333 

800–CDC–INFO (800–232–4636) or 404–639–3534 

www.cdc.gov 

The American Lung Association 

61 Broadway, 6th Floor 

New York, NY 10006 

800–LUNGUSA (800–586–4872) or 800–548–8252 

www.lungusa.org 

16 
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES 

National Institutes of Health 

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases 

NIH Publication No. 08-5725 

June 2008 

www.niaid.nih.gov