Tuberculosis
- Topics
- Basic TB Facts
- Treatment
- Testing & Diagnosis
- TB & HIV Coinfection
- Infection Control & Prevention
- Drug-Resistant TB
- TB in Specific Populations
- African-American Community
- Correctional Facility Staff & Inmates
- Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Strengthen TB Information Systems and Program Assessment
- Strengthen TB Environmental Controls and Isolation Practices
- Provide More Comprehensive and Timely Screening and Diagnostic Evaluations
- Develop and Strengthen Contact Investigation Protocols
- Increase HIV Counseling and Testing
- Increase Staff Training
- Strengthen Collaboration Between Health Departments and Jails
- International Travelers
- Pregnancy
- Vaccines & Immunizations
- Laboratory Information
- Research
- TB Epidemiologic Studies Consortium
- Background
- Infrastructure
- Research Projects
- Publications
- Meetings
- Directory
- TBESC Committee Members
- Contact TBESC
- Prospective Evaluation of Immunogenetic and Immunologic Markers for Susceptibility to Tuberculosis Infection and Progression from M. Tuberculosisinfection to active TB
- Zero Tolerance for Pediatric TB
- Models for Incorporating HIV Counseling, Testing, and Referral into Tuberculosis Contact Investigations
- Prevalence of Latent TB Infection Among High Risk Populations in the United States
- Regional Capacity-Building in Low-Incidence Areas
- Use of Network Analysis Methods to Characterize M. tuberculosis Transmission Patterns Among Women and Other High-Risk Populations
- An Analysis of Molecular Epidemiology of Multi-Drug Resistant M. tuberculosisin the United States
- Missed Opportunities for TB Prevention in Foreign-Born Population in the United States and Canada
- New Model for Assessing TB Surveillance and Action Performance and Cost
- Addressing TB Among African Americans in the Southeast: Identifying and Overcoming Barriers to Treatment Adherence for Latent TB Infection and TB Disease
- Assessing the TB Knowledge, Attitudes, Beliefs, and Practices Among Private Providers Serving Foreign-born Populations at Risk for TB
- Factors Associated with Acceptance of, Adherence to and Toxicity From Treatment for Latent TB Infection and Pilot Study of Treatment for Latent TB Infection Effectiveness
- Culturally Appropriate TB Educational Materials for Leaders and Staff of Hispanic Service Organizations
- Enhancing TB Programs� Capacity for Self-Evaluation: Testing New Tools and Developing an Evaluation Toolkit
- African Refugee Women�s Health Improvement Project
- Evaluation of the TK Medium: A New Rapid Solid Culture System for Tuberculosis
- Evaluation of New Interferon-y Release Assays in the Diagnosis of Latent TB Infection in Health Care Workers
- TB Trials Consortium
- Behavioral & Social Science Research
- TB Epidemiologic Studies Consortium
- Data & Statistics
- Education & Training
- Resources for TB Programs
- Publications & Products
- Fact Sheets
- General
- Fact sheets - Spanish
- TB - General Information
- The Difference Between Latent TB Infection and Active TB Disease
- A Global Perspective on TB
- Tuberculosis Information for Employers in Non-Healthcare Settings
- Tuberculosis Information for International Travelers
- TB Can Be Treated
- Exposure to TB
- TB and HIV/AIDS
- You Can Prevent TB
- Testing for TB
- Tuberculosis: informaci�n general
- Diferencia entre la infecci�n de tuberculosis latente y enfermedad de tuberculosis activa
- Informaci�n sobre la tuberculosis para los viajeros internacionales
- Exposición a la tuberculosis
- Usted puede prevenir la tuberculosis
- La tuberculosis puede ser tratada
- Tuberculosis y VIH/SIDA
- Usted puede prevenir la tuberculosis
- Pruebas para detectar la tuberculosis
- Data & Statistics
- A Global Perspective on TB
- Trends in Tuberculosis – United States
- The Revised Report of Verified Case of Tuberculosis
- The National Tuberculosis Indicators Project (NTIP)
- National Tuberculosis Indicators Project (NTIP): Frequently Asked Questions
- TB Genotyping
- TB Genotyping Information Management System (TB-GIMS)
- Drug-Resistant TB
- Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR TB)
- Extensively Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis (XDR TB)
- CDC’s Role in Preventing Extensively Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis (XDR TB)
- Tuberculosis multirresistente (MDR)
- Tuberculosis extremadamente resistente (XDR)
- El papel de los CDC en la prevenci�n de la tuberculosis extremadamente resistente (XDR)
- Infection Control & Prevention
- TB in Specific Populations
- Tuberculosis Information for Employers in Non-Healthcare Settings
- Tuberculosis in Minorities
- Tuberculosis Information for International Travelers
- TB and HIV/AIDS
- Recommendations for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Screening in Tuberculosis (TB) Clinics
- Treatment of Drug-Susceptible Tuberculosis Disease in HIV-Infected Persons
- Tuberculosis in Blacks
- Tuberculosis and Pregnancy
- Tuberculosis y embarazo
- Treatment
- TB Can Be Treated
- Treatment of Latent TB Infection
- Treatment of Latent Tuberculosis Infection: Maximizing Adherence
- Treatment Options for Latent Tuberculosis Infection
- Treatment of Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis
- Treatment of Drug-Susceptible Tuberculosis Disease in Persons Not Infected with HIV
- Treatment of Drug-Susceptible Tuberculosis Disease in HIV-Infected Persons
- Tratamiento de la infecci�n de tuberculosis latente
- Testing & Diagnosis
- TB Can Be Treated
- Testing for TB
- Recommendations for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Screening in Tuberculosis (TB) Clinics
- QuantiFERON®-TB Gold Test
- Tuberculin Skin Testing
- Diagnosis of Tuberculosis Disease
- Targeted Tuberculin Testing and Interpreting Tuberculin Skin Test Results
- Prueba de QuantiFERON�-TB Gold
- Prueba cutánea de la tuberculina
- Diagnóstico de la tuberculosis activa
- Vaccines & Immunizations
- General
- Guidelines
- Guides & Toolkits
- Newsletters
- Pamphlets, Brochures, Booklets
- PDA Application
- Posters
- Reports & Articles
- Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports (MMWRs)
- Contact Investigations
- Control and Elimination
- Data & Statistics
- Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis
- Infection Control & Prevention
- Laboratory
- TB in Specific Populations
- Foreign-Born
- High-Risk Settings
- Homeless
- International
- Occupational Groups
- Travel
- TB & HIV
- Testing & Diagnosis
- Treatment
- LTBI Updates
- Vaccines & Immunizations
- World TB Day
- DTBE Authored Journal Articles
- Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports (MMWRs)
- Slide Sets
- Guidelines for Preventing the Transmission of M. TB in Health care Settings
- Investigation of Contacts of Persons with Infectious TB
- Text-Only version
- Introduction
- Decisions to Initiate a Contact Investigation
- Investigating the Index Patient and Sites of Transmission
- Assigning Priorities to Contacts
- Diagnostic and Public Health Evaluation of Contacts
- Medical Treatment for Contacts with LTBI
- When to Expand a Contact Investigation
- Communicating Through the News Media
- Data Management and Evaluation of Contact Investigations
- Confidentiality and Consent in Contact Investigations
- Staff Training for Contact Investigations
- Contact Investigations in Special Circumstances
- Source-Case Investigations
- Cultural Competency and Social Network Analysis
- Resources
- Epidemiology of Pediatric Tuberculosis in the United States
- Text-Only version
- Introduction
- Pediatric TB Cases by Age and Race
- Pediatric TB Cases by Origin of Birth
- Pediatric Cases, Percentages and Rates by States
- Pediatric TB Cases by Case Verification Criterion and Site of Disease
- Pediatric TB Cases in Specific Groups
- Pediatric TB Cases Case Completion
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- Slide 25
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- Slide 27
- Slide 28
- Slide 29
- Slide 30
- Slide 31
- Treatment of TB
- Targeted Tuberculin Testing and Treatment of Latent Tuberculosis Infection
- Videos, DVDs, CD Roms
- Podcasts
- Web-Based Courses & Webinars
- Fact Sheets
- Events
- Links
- About Us
- Mission Statement and Activities
- Organization Chart
- Advisory Groups
- Federal TB Task Force
- Table of Contents
- Executive Summary
- Introduction
- Chronology in the Development of This Report
- Strategies for Maintaining Control of TB
- Strategies for Accelerating the Decline of TB
- Activities for Developing New Tools
- Global U.S. Actions
- Assessing the Impact of Actions Taken
- Federal TB Task Force Members and Others Involved in the Development of This Report
- Glossary
- References
- Federal TB Task Force Roster
- Table of Contents
- Executive Summary
- Introduction
- How to Eliminate TB? – The IOM Report
- Why Eliminate TB? – Rationale for Elimination
- Who Will Lead? – CDC's Response
- Goal I: Maintain control of TB
- Goal II: Accelerate the decline
- Goal III: Create new tools
- Goal IV: Reduce the global burden of TB
- Goal V: Summon and sustain support
- Goal VI: Track progress
- References
- Federal TB Task Force
- Funding
Basic TB Facts
TB Terms
Active TB disease – an illness in which TB bacteria are multiplying and attacking a part of the body, usually the lungs. The symptoms of active TB disease include weakness, weight loss, fever, no appetite, chills, and sweating at night. Other symptoms of active TB disease depend on where in the body the bacteria are growing. If active TB disease is in the lungs (pulmonary TB), the symptoms may include a bad cough, pain in the chest, and coughing up blood. A person with active TB disease may be infectious and spread TB bacteria to others.
BCG– a vaccine for TB named after the French scientists who developed it, Calmette and Guérin. BCG is rarely used in the United States, but it is often given to infants and small children in other countries where TB is common.
Chest x-ray – a picture of the inside of your chest. A chest x-ray is made by exposing a film to x-rays that pass through the chest. A doctor can look at this film to see whether TB bacteria have damaged the lungs.
Contact – a person who has spent time with a person with infectious TB.
Culture – a test to see whether there are TB bacteria in your phlegm or other body fluids. This test can take 2 to 4 weeks in most laboratories.
Directly observed therapy (DOT) – a way of helping patients take their medicine for TB. If you get DOT, you will meet with a health care worker every day or several times a week. You will meet at a place you both agree on. This can be the TB clinic, your home or work, or any other convenient location. You will take your medicine while the health care worker watches.
Extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR TB) - XDR TB is a rare type of TB disease that is resistant to nearly all medicines used to treat TB.
Extrapulmonary TB – active TB disease in any part of the body other than the lungs (for example, the kidney, spine, brain, or lymph nodes).
HIV infection – infection with the human immunodeficiency virus, the virus that causes AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). A person with both latent TB infection and HIV infection is at very high risk for active TB disease.
INH or isoniazid – a medicine used to prevent active TB disease in people who have latent TB infection. INH is also one of the four medicines often used to treat active TB disease.
Latent TB infection – a condition in which TB bacteria are alive but inactive in the body. People with latent TB infection have no symptoms, don't feel sick, can't spread TB to others, and usually have a positive skin test reaction. But they may develop active TB disease if they do not receive treatment for latent TB infection.
Multidrug-resistant TB (MDR TB) –active TB disease caused by bacteria resistant to two or more of the most important medicines: INH and RIF.
Mycobacterium tuberculosis – bacteria that cause latent TB infection and active TB disease.
Negative – usually refers to a test result. If you have a negative TB skin test reaction, you probably do not have TB infection.
Positive – usually refers to a test result. If you have a positive TB skin test reaction, you probably have TB infection.
Pulmonary TB – active TB disease that occurs in the lungs, usually producing a cough that lasts 3 weeks or longer. Most active TB disease is pulmonary.
Resistant bacteria – bacteria that can no longer be killed by a certain medicine.
Rifampin (RIF) – one of the four medicines often used to treat active TB disease. It is considered a first-line drug.
Smear – a test to see whether there are TB bacteria in your phlegm. To do this test, lab workers smear the phlegm on a glass slide, stain the slide with a special stain, and look for any TB bacteria on the slide. This test usually takes 1 day to get the results.
Sputum – phlegm coughed up from deep inside the lungs. Sputum is examined for TB bacteria using a smear; part of the sputum can also be used to do a culture.
TB skin test – a test that is often used to find out if you are infected with TB bacteria. A liquid called tuberculin is injected under the skin on the lower part of your arm. If you have a positive reaction to this test, you probably have TB infection. Other tests will be needed to find out if you have latent TB infection or TB disease.
TB blood test – a new test that uses a blood sample to find out if you are infected with TB bacteria. The test measures the response to TB proteins when they are mixed with a small amount of blood. Examples of these special TB blood tests include QuantiFERON®-TB Gold (QFT-G) and T-Spot®.TB test.
Tuberculin or PPD – a liquid that is injected under the skin on the lower part of your arm during a TB skin test. If you have latent TB infection, you will probably have a positive reaction to the tuberculin.
Contact Us:
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Division of Tuberculosis Elimination (DTBE)
1600 Clifton Rd., NE
MS E10
Atlanta, GA 30333 - 800-CDC-INFO
(800-232-4636)
TTY: (888) 232-6348
24 Hours/Every Day - cdcinfo@cdc.gov