Tuberculosis and Pneumonia

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Tuberculosis as (TB) is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It is slow growing bacteria that thrive in areas of the body that are rich in blood and oxygen, such as the lungs. Tuberculosis develops when Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria are inhaled into the lungs. The infection usually stays in the lungs, but the bacteria can travel through the bloodstream to other parts of the body.

Symptoms of active tuberculosis in the lungs begin gradually and develop over a period of weeks or months. You could have one or two mild symptoms and not even know that you have the disease. Some of the symptoms are a cough with thick, cloudy and sometimes bloody mucus from the lungs for more than 2 weeks.

Fever, chills, and night sweats. Fatigue and weakness. Loss of appetite and weight loss. Shortness of breath and chest pain.

A reaction to a tuberculin skin test is how most people find out if they have tuberculosis. It takes 48 hours after the test for a reaction to develop, which is a red bump where the needle went in. Doctors can diagnose tuberculosis from the results of a chest x-ray o...

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