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August 22, 2025
A vaccine that is a “must” for those who are getting involved in any of the school volunteers, events, sports, etc and is required when moving across most countries, tuberculosis. We have been getting tested and vaccinated for this disease, but not many people know about what exactly the disease is. This article will briefly go over what tuberculosis is, how people are vaccinated, what the symptoms are, and the potential cures of the disease.
Tuberculosis, so-called TB, is an illness that mainly and seriously affects the lungs. According to the Mayo Clinic, tuberculosis can spread through saliva in ways such as coughing, sneezing, or singing/talking. The droplets of saliva with the bacteria travel through the air and contaminate others’ lungs and immune systems, spreading the disease. It is often spread when people are gathered in crowds or live in those conditions. People with weak immune systems or those with HIV/AIDS are at a higher risk of catching this disease and are more vulnerable to it.
Just like most of the diseases that are associated with the lungs, tuberculosis’s main symptoms are like any other cold or COVID-19. However, symptoms of tuberculosis get worse throughout the stages—primary, latent, and active. The Mayo Clinic states that the main symptoms that are shown commonly in the primary stage are: low fever, tiredness, feeling weak, cough, along with a pain around chest area. The latent stage is when the immune system builds a wall around the TB-infected area so that bacteria cannot do much damage to the body. There tend to be no symptoms during this stage, which is why people often disregard their previous symptoms and overlook their chances of having tuberculosis.
As time progresses and symptoms worsen, patients enter the active stage. They will have the same symptoms as the early stage, with coughing and chest pain, but additionally will experience coughing up blood or mucus, pain with breathing, higher fever, chills, night sweats, weight loss, drop in appetite, tiredness, and low energy. Because the symptoms are easy to overlook and miss the right time to visit the doctor, it is best to go check in with the doctor when you feel chest pain when breathing or difficulty breathing.
The diagnosis of tuberculosis is simple. You go to your local CVS or physician, and they will do a TB skin test or TB blood test. According to the CDC, the TB skin test is done by injecting a small amount of tuberculin to check for any reactions, and once it gets swollen within 48 to 72 hours, you will have to go through extra checks, such as X-rays. Another test is the TB blood test, where they take a small amount of your blood and test the immunity by mixing it with TB proteins.
Tuberculosis might not be too common, but it can be contagious and dangerous to everyone’s lives. It is important to get it checked if you have any symptoms related to chest pain or throat, coughing, fever, dizziness, etc.
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