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How easy is it to catch TB?

Although it is spread in a similar way to a cold or the flu, TB is not as contagious. You would usually have to spend prolonged periods in close contact with an infected person to catch the infection yourself. For example, TB infections usually spread between family members who live in the same house.
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What are the chances of getting TB if exposed?

tuberculosis infection (LTBI) is estimated to be 5%–10% over the course of a lifetime, with approximately half of cases occurring within the first 2 years after exposure [3–5].
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Does everyone exposed to TB get it?

Not everyone who comes in contact with tuberculosis gets infected. If you are infected there are medicines that can cure the infection and prevent you from getting sick. weight loss.
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How common is it to get TB?

About a quarter of the global population is estimated to have been infected with TB bacteria, but most people will not go on to develop TB disease and some will clear the infection. Those who are infected but not (yet) ill with the disease cannot transmit it.
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Is it safe to be around someone with TB?

It is important to know that a person who is exposed to TB bacteria is not able to spread the bacteria to other people right away. Only persons with active TB disease can spread TB bacteria to others. Before you would be able to spread TB to others, you would have to breathe in TB bacteria and become infected.
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What is Tuberculosis?

Is TB extremely contagious?

Although TB is spread in a similar way to a cold or flu, it is not as contagious. You would have to spend prolonged periods (several hours) in close contact with an infected person to catch the infection yourself. For example, TB infections usually spread between family members who live in the same house.
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Can you be exposed to TB and not get it?

TB germs can live in your body without making you sick. This is called latent TB infection. This means you have only inactive (sleeping) TB germs in your body.
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How likely is it to survive TB?

The global case-fatality rates are reported to be between 7% and 35% [3], and risk factors for death may include non-infective comorbidities, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and multidrug-resistant TB (MDRTB) [4].
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How do TB symptoms start?

TB disease usually develops slowly, and it may take several weeks before you notice you're unwell. Your symptoms might not begin until months or even years after you were initially infected. Sometimes the infection does not cause any symptoms. This is known as latent TB.
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Is it rare to survive tuberculosis?

Without proper treatment up to two thirds of people ill with TB will die. Since 2000, 53 million lives have been saved through effective diagnosis and treatment.
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How long does it take for TB to show up after exposure?

How soon do symptoms appear? Most people infected with the germ that causes TB never develop TB disease. If TB disease does develop, it can occur two to three months after infection or years later. The risk of TB disease lessens as time passes.
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How long do you have to be in contact with TB?

Hours of exposure to a patient with infectious TB is an important LTBI predictor, with a possible risk threshold of 250 hours.
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What happens if I test positive for TB?

A “positive” TB blood test result means you probably have TB germs in your body. Most people with a positive TB blood test have latent TB infection. To be sure, your doctor will examine you and do a chest x-ray. You may need other tests to see if you have latent TB infection or active TB disease.
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Can you get TB from being in the same room?

TB bacteria spread through the air from one person to another. When a person with TB disease of the lungs or throat coughs, speaks, or sings, TB bacteria can get into the air. People nearby may breathe in these bacteria and become infected.
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What is the biggest symptom of TB?

What Are the Symptoms of TB?
  • A cough that lasts more than three weeks.
  • Loss of appetite and unintentional weight loss.
  • Fever.
  • Chills.
  • Night sweats.
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Who is most at risk for tuberculosis?

Persons who have been Recently Infected with TB Bacteria

Persons who have immigrated from areas of the world with high rates of TB. Children less than 5 years of age who have a positive TB test. Groups with high rates of TB transmission, such as homeless persons, injection drug users, and persons with HIV infection.
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What are 5 causes of tuberculosis?

Risk factors for TB include:
  • Poverty.
  • HIV infection.
  • Homelessness.
  • Being in jail or prison (where close contact can spread infection)
  • Substance abuse.
  • Taking medication that weakens the immune system.
  • Kidney disease and diabetes.
  • Organ transplants.
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Where is TB most common?

TB occurs throughout the world but is much more common in some countries. Most TB occurs in sub-Saharan Africa, Eastern Europe, and Asia. Some TB bacteria are resistant to the drugs used to treat infection (drug-resistant TB).
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Can TB go away on its own?

In some cases, the initial infection of tuberculosis can seem to go away on its own, but it often reactivates. Without treatment, the illness can come back.
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What are the 3 stages of TB?

There are 3 stages of TB—exposure, latent, and active disease.
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What does TB chest pain feel like?

chest pain. coughing up blood or phlegm from the lungs. breathlessness.
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How to avoid tuberculosis?

The risk of infection can be reduced by using a few simple precautions:
  1. good ventilation: as TB can remain suspended in the air for several hours with no ventilation.
  2. natural light: UV light kills off TB bacteria.
  3. good hygiene: covering the mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing reduces the spread of TB bacteria.
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Can TB be transmitted through kiss?

Sharing drinking containers or eating utensils. Smoking or sharing cigarettes with others. Saliva shared from kissing. TB is NOT spread through shaking someone's hand, sharing food, touching bed linens or toilet seats, or sharing toothbrushes.
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Do you have to quarantine if you have TB?

Note: Home isolation is recommended for the initial three to five days of appropriate four-drug TB treatment.
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Should I quarantine for tuberculosis?

Remain in your home and out of contact with the public (you may be outdoors at home) until the Public Health Nurse tells you that you are no longer contagious. You cannot go in public or have visitors. You can go to your TB healthcare appointments. You will be provided a mask for these appointments.
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