What is Tuberculosis?
Tuberculosis, or TB, is a preventable infectious disease caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. TB can attack any part of the body, but primarily attacks the lungs. TB disease was once a leading cause of death in the United States. Worldwide, TB still causes more deaths than any other infectious disease.

During the 1940s, scientists discovered the first of many drugs used to treat TB. As a result, TB slowly began to disappear in the U.S. Unfortunately, TB infection has made a comeback in recent decades. After 1984, the number of TB cases reported in the U.S. began to increase. More than 25,000 cases were reported in 1993.

Show All Answers

1. What is a communicable disease?
2. Who is responsible for reporting a communicable disease?
3. What is Avian influenza?
4. What is seasonal influenza?
5. What is influenza (the flu)?
6. What is pandemic influenza?
7. What are the signs and symptoms of pandemic influenza?
8. How is pandemic influenza different from seasonal influenza?
9. How is pandemic influenza different from avian influenza?
10. How is pandemic influenza spread?
11. How can I protect myself and my family from getting sick during a pandemic?
12. How likely is it that we will see a pandemic flu in our lifetime?
13. How will we know when a new influenza virus is identified?
14. What are federal, state and local public health agencies doing to prepare for pandemic influenza?
15. What is Tuberculosis?
16. How is Tuberculosis (TB) spread?
17. What is latent Tuberculosis (TB) or (LTBI)?
18. What is active Tuberculosis (TB)?
19. Who is at risk for getting Tuberculosis (TB)?
20. How are people tested for Tuberculosis (TB)?