Quick guide to ... Tuberculosis

17 March 2009 1 min read Health

Tuberculosis (TB) is a bacterial infection spread by breathing in tiny droplets of saliva from the coughs, or sneezes, of an infected person. Earlier this month tests were carried out on 50 children from a playgroup in South Wales after a member of staff was diagnosed with the infection, one of a series of recent cases in Wales.

- The bacteria responsible for TB are very slow moving, so a person may not experience any symptoms for many months, or even years, after becoming infected. TB primarily affects the lungs (pulmonary TB). Typical symptoms include a persistent cough, weight loss, and night sweats

- A diagnosis of pulmonary TB can usually be confirmed by carrying out a chest X-ray. For those with a TB infection, there should be changes to the appearance of the lungs that will be visible on the X-ray

- Before antibiotics were introduced, TB used to be a major health problem in England. The condition is now much less common, although in recent years TB cases have been increasing

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