Does tuberculosis infect people?

Written by Han Jian Hua
Infectious Disease
Updated on September 07, 2024
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Tuberculosis is a contagious disease, and hearing the term "tuberculosis" inevitably makes people nervous. However, not all tuberculosis patients are contagious. Research shows that among tuberculosis patients, only those who have tuberculosis bacteria found in sputum smear tests are contagious. With a source of infection, the tuberculosis bacteria must be transmitted to others through certain routes. Airborne transmission is the main route of transmission for tuberculosis bacteria. When a tuberculosis patient coughs, sneezes, or speaks loudly, they release a large number of droplet nuclei containing tuberculosis bacteria into the air, which can be inhaled by healthy individuals and cause infection. The degree of tuberculosis bacteria infection mainly depends on factors such as the amount of bacteria the patient expels, the severity of coughing symptoms, and the extent of contact. Therefore, when there is a tuberculosis patient nearby, we first need to understand whether they are in the active phase of the disease, that is, expelling bacteria, and whether they are undergoing anti-tuberculosis chemotherapy. If the patient has a negative sputum test or has undergone chemotherapy for a positive sputum test, such patients have very low contagiousness, so there is no need to worry too much about being infected.

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Written by Wang Chun Mei
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Does tuberculosis cause fever in its initial stage?

Tuberculosis is caused by an infection of the lungs by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and it is a very common infectious respiratory disease clinically. Typically, the early stage of tuberculosis is accompanied by mild fever to varying degrees, usually occurring in the afternoon, along with coughing, expectoration of blood, chest tightness, shortness of breath, and even chest pain, weight loss, fatigue, and night sweats as accompanying clinical symptoms. In the early stages, the diagnosis of tuberculosis in patients is generally made through these specific clinical symptoms, along with some sputum culture and chest X-ray examinations. Usually, most patients with early-stage tuberculosis will experience symptoms of low-grade fever, but these patients have a characteristic of fever that occurs in the afternoon and does not require antipyretics as it can return to normal by itself in the evening.

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Written by Wang Xiang Yu
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Local symptoms of pulmonary tuberculosis

The local symptoms of tuberculosis primarily require us to understand where tuberculosis occurs. Currently, tuberculosis in the lung tissues, trachea, bronchi, and pleura are all classified as pulmonary tuberculosis. The primary local symptoms are still respiratory symptoms, with the most common being cough and expectoration. Patients with tuberculosis generally have a slow onset, with most experiencing cough and expectoration that can persist for two weeks or more. Some patients may also exhibit symptoms like blood in the sputum or hemoptysis. Additionally, some patients may experience other symptoms; for example, those with pleural involvement might have irritative cough, chest pain, and difficulty breathing, while those with tracheobronchial involvement might exhibit a prolonged irritative cough. Some patients may also develop bronchial stenosis, which can lead to difficulty breathing.

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Written by Li Jiao Yan
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Does the BCG vaccine prevent tuberculosis?

The BCG vaccine primarily prevents infection by the tuberculosis bacillus, so it can prevent pulmonary tuberculosis. The protective effect of the BCG vaccine is mainly achieved through inducing a cell-mediated immune response. After vaccination, a primary infection is formed, which is processed by macrophages that transmit the antigen information to immune-active cells, leading to the differentiation and proliferation of T cells and the formation of sensitized lymphocytes. When the body is re-infected with the tuberculosis bacillus, the macrophages and sensitized lymphocytes are activated, causing a specific immune response in the body, thereby resisting the infection by the tuberculosis bacillus. Therefore, the BCG vaccine mainly prevents pulmonary tuberculosis.

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Can tuberculosis be fatal?

Can tuberculosis be fatal? Of course, the answer is yes. Many diseases can lead to death, even a common cold can potentially result in death, let alone tuberculosis, which is an extraordinary illness. Currently, the mortality rate for tuberculosis patients is relatively low because the treatment for tuberculosis has improved significantly compared to the past. However, there are still a small number of patients who, due to untimely treatment of tuberculosis, discontinuation of medications on their own accord or non-compliance with medical advice, or who have other serious underlying diseases, may not tolerate the tuberculosis treatment. As a result, they could potentially die from adverse reactions to the tuberculosis medications.

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Is tuberculosis contagious?

Tuberculosis (TB) is only infectious in some patients who have a large amount of tubercle bacilli in their sputum. In fact, many patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis are not infectious. For more patients with active pulmonary tuberculosis, tubercle bacilli cannot be found in their sputum, so the actual situation must be considered. In fact, to determine if pulmonary tuberculosis is infectious, it is simple: look for acid-fast bacilli in the sputum. If the sputum acid-fast staining is positive, it indicates infectiousness. Infectious pulmonary tuberculosis requires systematic and standardized anti-tuberculosis treatment.