Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

You can get tuberculosis in many countries, especially in Asia, Africa, South America and Eastern Europe.

Tuberculosis is often pulmonary TB, but there are also forms in the kidneys, joints and glands. Only people with pulmonary TB are contagious when they cough and bacteria enter the air. You can become infected by inhaling those bacteria.

Not everyone who inhales the bacterium becomes ill. It can stay in the body for a long time without symptoms. Someone with normal immunity has about a 10% chance of developing tuberculosis after infection. Symptoms, if they appear, include fatigue, coughing, weight loss and loss of appetite. That can happen after six weeks, or only after years.

There is a vaccine against tuberculosis. Whether you need it depends on where you go, how long and what you do. Tuberculosis department professionals can decide this. Ask a travel clinic whether a referral is needed. Turning your head away from someone who is coughing lowers the chance of infection.