Tuberculosis Facts
TB and HIV/AIDS
What is TB?
TB is short for a disease called tuberculosis. TB is spread through
the air from one person to another. TB germs are passed through the
air when someone who is sick with TB disease of the lungs or throat
coughs, speaks, laughs, sings, or sneezes. Anyone near the sick
person can breathe TB germs into their lungs.
TB germs can live in your body without making you sick. This is
called latent TB infection. This means you have only inactive
(sleeping) TB germs in your body. The inactive germs cannot be
passed on to anyone else. However, if these germs wake up or become
active in your body and multiply, you will get sick with TB disease.
When TB germs are active (multiplying in your body), this is called
TB disease. These germs usually attack the lungs. They can also
attack other parts of the body, such as, the kidneys, brain, or
spine. TB disease will make you sick. People with TB disease may
spread the germs to people they spend time with every day.
How Does HIV Infection Affect TB?
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or the AIDS virus helps TB germs
make you sick because it weakens your system. If you are infected
with HIV and with TB germs, you have a very big chance of getting TB
disease. The TB germs are much more likely to become active and
attack your lungs and other parts of the body.
If you think you may have HIV infection, talk to your doctor about
getting an HIV test. If you have HIV infection and TB infection, you
must get treatment right away to keep from getting sicker. Take your
medicine exactly the way you doctor or health care worker tells you.
TB drugs are very strong. They can treat TB infection and TB
disease, even in people with HIV infection.
Remember, TB drugs only work when you take them the way your health
care worker tells you!
Last Modified: 11/16/2007
Last Reviewed: 05/18/2008 Content Source: Division of Tuberculosis Elimination
National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention
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