Search ResultsSymptoms of TB disease depend on where in the body the TB bacteria are growing. TB disease symptoms may include:A bad cough that lasts 3 weeks or longer.Pain in the chest.Coughing up blood or sputum (phlegm from deep inside the lungs)Weakness or fatigue.Weight loss.No appetite.Chills.Fever.

With tuberculosis, you must take antibiotics for at least six to nine months. The exact drugs and length of treatment depend on your age, overall health, possible drug resistance, the form of TB (latent or active) and the infection's location in the body.

Most common TB drugs If you have latent tuberculosis, you may need to take just one type of TB drug. Active tuberculosis, particularly if it's a drug-resistant strain, will require several drugs at once. The most common medications used to treat tuberculosis include: Isoniazid Rifampin (Rifadin, Rimactane) Ethambutol (Myambutol) Pyrazinamide If you have drug-resistant TB, a combination of antibiotics called fluoroquinolones and injectable medications, such as amikacin, kanamycin or capreomycin, are generally used for 20 to 30 months. Some types of TB are developing resistance to these medications as well. A number of new drugs are being looked at as add-on therapy to the current drug-resistant combination treatment including: Bedaquiline Delamanid PA-824 Linezolid Sutezolid

TB is usually spread between family members, close friends, and people who work or live together. TB is spread most easily in closed spaces over a long period of time. However, transmission in an airplane, although rare, has been documented.

TB is spread through the air from one person to another. The TB bacteria are put into the air when a person with TB disease of the lungs or throat coughs, sneezes, speaks, or sings. People nearby may breathe in these bacteria and become infected.

consumption (because of the severe weight loss and the way the infection appeared to “consume” the patient), phthisis pulmonaris and the white plague (because of the extreme pallor seen among those infected).