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Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by bacteria (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) that most often affect the lungs. Tuberculosis is curable and preventable. TB is spread from person to person through the air. When people with lung TB cough, sneeze or spit, they propel the TB germs into the air. A person needs to inhale only a few of these germs to become infected.

About one-quarter of the world's population has a TB infection, which means people have been infected by TB bacteria but are not (yet) ill with the disease and cannot transmit it. People infected with TB bacteria have a 5–10% lifetime risk of falling ill with TB. Those with compromised immune systems, such as people living with HIV, malnutrition or diabetes, or people who use tobacco, have a higher risk of falling ill.

When a person develops active TB disease, the symptoms (such as cough, fever, night sweats, or weight loss) may be mild for many months. This can lead to delays in seeking care, and results in transmission of the bacteria to others. People with active TB can infect 5–15 other people through close contact over the course of a year. Without proper treatment, 45% of HIV-negative people with TB on average and nearly all HIV-positive people with TB will die.

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Who is most at risk?

Tuberculosis mostly affects adults in their most productive years. However, all age groups are at risk. Over 95% of cases and deaths are in developing       countries.

People who are infected with HIV are 18 times more likely to develop active TB (see TB and HIV section below). The risk of active TB is also greater in       persons suffering from other conditions that impair the immune system. People with undernutrition are 3 times more at risk. Globally in 2019, there were       2.2 million new TB cases in 2018 that were attributable to undernutrition.

Alcohol use disorder and tobacco smoking increase the risk of TB disease by a factor of 3.3 and 1.6, respectively. In 2019, 0.72 million new TB cases       worldwide were attributable to alcohol use disorder and 0.70 million were attributable to smoking.

Symptoms

Common symptoms of active lung TB are:
  1. cough with sputum and blood at times
  2. chest pains
  3. weakness
  4. weight loss
  5. fever
  6. night sweats

WHO recommends the use of rapid molecular diagnostic tests as the initial diagnostic test in all persons with signs and symptoms of TB as they have high diagnostic accuracy and will lead to major improvements in the early detection of TB and drug-resistant TB. Rapid tests recommended by WHO are the Xpert MTB/RIF, Xpert Ultra and Truenat assays.