Is It TB? Learn the Signs and Symptoms of Tuberculosis

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.

Symptoms of TB depend on where in the body the TB bacteria are growing. TB bacteria usually grow in the lungs. TB in the lungs may cause symptoms such as

• A bad cough that lasts 3 weeks or longer

• Pain in the chest

• Coughing up blood or sputum (phlegm from deep inside the lungs)

Other symptoms of active TB disease are

• Weakness or fatigue

• Weight loss

• No appetite

• Chills

• Fever

• Sweating at night

You should get tested for TB if

• You have spent time with a person known to have active TB disease or suspected to have active TB disease; or

• You have HIV infection or another condition that puts you at high risk for developing active TB disease; or

• You think you might have active TB disease; or

• You are from a country where TB disease is common (most countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, and Russia); or

• You live in a place where TB disease is more common such as a homeless shelter, migrant farm camp, prison or jail, and some nursing homes); or

• You inject illegal drugs

For more information

• Questions and Answers about TB, 2007
• Tuberculosis: General Information (Information in Spanish)
• What You Need to Know about the TB Skin Test (2005) ( PDF 203 KB, 2 pages)
• The Difference between Latent TB Infection and Active TB Disease