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What does a positive tuberculosis test look like?

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Tuberculosis is a disease which is infectious, and it is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. This will usually affect the lungs, while the organs of the circulatory system and the central nervous system can also be affected. The disease was referred to as consumption due to the way it would consume anyone infected. This can affect any tissue or organ of the body, and the most common site of the disease is in the lungs.

When someone is infected with tuberculosis, the number of bacteria in the lungs will greatly increase, leading to chest pain, pneumonia, the coughing of blood and a cough that is prolonged. The TB may try to spread to other parts of the body, and it may often be interrupted by the body’s immune system. This will form fibrosis or a scar tissue around the TB bacteria, and this will help to fight the infection.

If the body cannot fight the TB or if the bacteria come through the scar tissue, the disease will then return to an active state and it could do damage to kidneys and bones that are along the spinal cord and the brain. TB actually pertains to being active or latent and the latent will occur if the bacterium is in the body. This is an inactive state and it will present no symptoms. This is not contagious, and the condition can make you sick with symptoms. If it is active, then it is contagious and is the condition that can make you very sick with its symptoms.

Today, TB is a major cause of death and of illness, and each year this disease kills close to 2 million people and this is very prevalent among people with aids.

No Visible Symptoms

When there is an infection of the bacteria which cause tuberculosis, most people do not present the symptoms of the disease, but with the presence of the symptoms, there can be symptoms such as unexplained weight loss, fatigue, tiredness, fever, shortness of breath, chills, night sweats, and a loss of appetite. Some of the symptoms which are experienced in the lungs are coughing for 2 to 3 weeks or more, chest pain, coughing up blood, and pain with coughing or breathing.

There is actually a vaccine available for tuberculosis that is called BCG and it is used in a couple of parts of the world where TB is more common. This vaccine will protect children and infants from the disease but adults can also get it even if they were vaccinated as children. There are better ways of preventing TB relapses or tuberculosis; these are practicing a healthy diet that will take care of your immune system. That means getting a regular TB test if you work in an environment that is high-risk and finishing the TB medications.

Conclusion

Also, ensure that you stay home, cover your mouth and ensure ventilation to prevent spreading the disease to anyone else.  A person who has a positive skin test and no symptoms usually only has a few TB cells and it isn’t contagious. Although a treatment antibiotic may be recommended for this person anyways.


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