The following are the different stages of Tuberculosis infection. The disease passes through 3 different stages in the human body. There is a difference between being infected with TB bacteria and having active tuberculosis disease.
There are 3 stages of TB: exposure, latent, and active disease.
The stages of TB are:
TB Exposure
This happens when a person has been in contact with, or exposed to, another person who has TB. The exposed person will have a negative skin test, a normal chest X-ray, and no signs or symptoms of the disease.
Latent TB infection
This happens when a person has TB bacteria in their body but no symptoms of the disease. The infected person’s immune system walls off the TB organisms. And the TB stays inactive throughout life in most people who are infected.
This person would have a positive skin or blood test for TB but a normal chest X-ray or one that only shows past scarring from the disease. They would have no signs of active infection in other parts of the body.
TB disease
This person has signs and symptoms of an active TB infection. The person could have a positive or negative skin or blood test for TB and a positive chest X-ray, biopsy, or other finding showing an active infection.
The main TB bacterium is Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Many people infected with this bacterium never have active TB. They remain in the inactive (latent) TB stage. But some will develop active TB anytime from months to years, or even decades, after being exposed.
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