🦠 Tuberculosis (TB)
PH
PureHealthness Editorial Team · Health writers & reviewers
📝 Last reviewed: August 2026
✔ Transparent sourcing · Some articles are AI-drafted, then reviewed & fact-checked by our team
📝 Last reviewed: August 2026
| In brief | A bad cough lasting three weeks or longer, chest pain, coughing up blood, weakness, and night sweats. |
|---|---|
| Category | Respiratory |
🔍 What causes it
Mycobacterium tuberculosis — airborne bacteria spread by coughing/sneezing. Latent TB (inactive) is common; active TB develops when immunity drops. Curable, but treatment is months long.
⚠️ Key symptoms
- Cough lasting 3+ weeks
- Coughing up blood or phlegm
- Chest pain, weakness, fatigue
- Night sweats, fever, weight loss
💊 Treatment
A 4-6 month course of multiple antibiotics (isoniazid, rifampicin, etc.) — MUST be completed fully to cure and prevent drug resistance. Directly observed therapy is standard. Latent TB: shorter preventive course.
🛡️ Prevention
BCG vaccine (in TB-endemic countries), early diagnosis, good ventilation, completing treatment to stop spread.
🚨 See a doctor / red flags: See a doctor promptly if symptoms are severe, do not improve, or get worse — especially for children, older adults, pregnant women, or anyone with a chronic condition.
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