Health
The Differences Between Latent and Active TB: How TB Preventive Therapy can Prevent Childhood TB
| Language: | English |
| Country: | USA |
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Tuberculosis (TB) is a disease that mainly infects the lungs. Symptoms of active TB disease include a chronic bad cough, pain in the chest, or coughing up blood. However, some people who are infected with TB carry the bacteria but do not show these symptoms. They will appear perfectly healthy. This is called latent or sleeping TB infection. Unlike active TB disease, sleeping TB infection is not infectious to others. Household exposure to TB disease, if you are under 5 years of age or HIV infected alone, qualifies you for treatment of TB infection. Together, you and your healthcare provider can beat latent TB infection and prevent active TB disease.