You have excruciating pain in your throat or jaw. By Dr. C. Everett Koop Tuberculosis, or TB, is a chronic infection that usually affects the lungs. It can also spread throughout the body, particularly to the brain, kidneys and bones. TB was once so commonplace that it killed one out of five adults in Europe and the United States. Also, new types of TB appeared that outsmarted common antibiotics.
Tuberculosis develops in two stages.
The first is infection, when the TB bacteria enter the lungs and multiply. It's usually marked by a mild cough. Generally, the body's immune system stops the infection within two to 10 weeks. Only about 10 percent of the people who are infected with TB go on to develop the actual disease. Most TB can be treated effectively with antibiotics.