The Difference between latent TB infection and TB disease

Tuberculosis (TB) is a disease caused by a germ called Mycobacterium tuberculosis that is spread from person to person through the air. TB usually affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body, such as the brain, the kidneys, or the spine. When a person with infectious TB coughs or sneezes, droplet nuclei containing M. tuberculosis are expelled into the air. If another person inhales air containing these droplet nuclei, he or she may become infected. However, not everyone infected withTB bacteria becomes sick. As a result, two TB related conditions exist: latent TB infection and TB disease.CS227840_FLTBIandActiveTB.pdf201