Tuberculosis
- Sarah Ringold, MD, Writer;
- Cassio Lynm, MA, Illustrator;
- Richard M. Glass, MD, Editor
Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text.
- KEYWORDS:
- TUBERCULOSIS
Tuberculosis (TB) is infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, a type of bacterium. It is estimated that approximately 15 million individuals in the United States and as many as 30% of the world's population are infected. Tuberculosis infection typically occurs after repeated or prolonged exposure to the coughing of an actively infected person. Infection can involve any organ in the body, but the lungs are the most common site of damage. In active infection, there is damage to organs. In latent infection the person carries the bacteria but does not have current signs of active infection. Latent TB infection is important to diagnose and treat because it can become active infection. Multidrug-resistant TB is resistant to (cannot be killed by) standard antibiotics. This type of TB arises from improper or incomplete treatment of TB infection or through exposure to a person infected with this type of bacterium. The June 8, …
