Tuberculosis is a disease caused by the Mycobacterium tuberculosis, bacteria which attack other organs of the body but mainly the lungs leading to respiratory insufficiency. Before 1940, tuberculosis had already been one of the main causes of death in the USA and Europe. The disease can remain latent, without manifestation for several years and even throughout the life. Tuberculosis is highly contagious, transmitted by air route through sneezes and coughs from a person with the active disease. Transmission is common between members of the same family or even in work environments.
The disease today has treatment with efficient antibiotics. Generally, the patient receives three different drugs for several months until healing is complete. There are however some strains of multiresistant TB bacteria that emerged by mutation and natural selection due to the intense use of antibiotic drugs mainly in hospitals and treatment facilities; in these cases the treatment is more difficult.